APA Conference: The Latest News From N'awlins

With over 4,000 planners attending the American Planning Association’s national conference, New Orleans is the place to be this week. --- Most break-out sessions at the conference are standing room only and about half of the mobile tours are sold out (although several were cancelled due to heavy rains). Rumors abound that a new Executive Director to replace long-time director Frank S. So, FAICP, has already been selected, and will be named during the big APA awards ceremony on Wednesday, March 12, 2001. --- The buzz at the conference was about a session, "How Contrarians View Sprawl", which presented a pro-growth, pro-sprawl point of view, and enraged members of the audience. Moderated by Alan Ehrenhalt of Governing Magazine, and featuring Robert Bruegmann from the University of Illinois Chicago and Samuel R. Staley. According to some attendees, the panelists distorted facts to make sprawl sound like a natural market evolution. According to others, the panel was a good rebuttal to the current trend toward belief-based planning, or the idea that many planning decisions are not based on sound economic facts. Many applauded the APA for having the courage to host the session. --- The opening reception didn’t live up to its reputation from 10-years ago, where it was widely acknowledged as the best-ever opening reception. This year’s reception, held at the Aquarium of the Americas just adjacent to the conference hotel and the Mississippi River, was criticized as being unprepared for the estimated 5,000 – 6,000 people who showed up – 2,000 more than were registered for the conference. Attendees reported that the fire marshal was called to limit attendance. Many attendees faced 40-minute lines, and some were stranded on the patio during a sudden, although typical, New Orleans downpour. --- The conference hotel, the New Orleans Hilton sits next the Mississippi, and is the perfect conference hotel, with easy walking distance the bustling French Quarter and Riverwalk, a retail district along the river front. --- A morning session, "GIS for Collaborative Planning", presented several exciting new GIS-based models for visualizing different planning decisions. Moderated by Richard Brail of Rutgers University, panelist Eliot Allen of Criterion Inc. (Portland, OR) discussed the INDEX planning support system that uses indicators to measure the attributes and performance of community plans. Dr. Richard Klosterman from the University of Akron, Ohio discussed the What If system for modeling economic decisions. The show stopper was the Orton Family Foundation’s CommunityViz software. Although still in testing, Gary Smith of Green Mountain Geographics (Essex Junction, VT) demonstrated the software’s powerful land use planning capabilities which allows 2-D and 3-D modeling. --- The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) and American Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) are building a joint applied research agenda for planning to focus on one to three "top priority" research topics. Several of the top ten topics under consideration include growth management, urban ecology, participation and leadership, location decision-making, property rights, and affordable housing. Innovative ideas include the development of an urban planning "research index" – a single place where planners could go to look up all published articles about a particular planning topic. ---Think passing the AICP exam is easy? How would you answer this scenario: "You are working for a private planning firm. You are asked to work on a residential project for a developer. The developer instructs you to create a plan for 50 more units than she really wants, so that she will be able to compromise and get the number of homes she really wants at the public hearing stage of the project. You suggest a more reasonable plan, but the developer insists on the 50-unit plan because, as she states: 'I've been burned before.' Your boss is in agreement with the developer. What do you do?" This was one of ten "scenarios" discussed during the AICP Exam Preparation workshop. An abbreviated transcript will be available later on the APA website (check PLANetizen for details). What answer is the AICP looking for to this scenario? Only recommend what you believe is actually good for the project. (Never mind that you'd get fired…) --- Scenario-building and testing is a powerful new addition to the front-end development of plans. In a session "Using Scenarios to Improve Planning" Michael Lauer, AICP of FLC Planning (Kansas City, MO) made the case for a return to comprehensive and analytical planning merged with character-based planning while co-panelist Uri P. Avin, FAICP of LDR International (Columbia, MD) discussed the finer points of scenario building. --- Wrapping up the day was a panel, "Technology Tools for Citizen Participation." Moderated by Joseph Baker, Chair of the Information Technology Division, the panel provided live demonstrations of current technologies which can be used to engage citizens in the planning process. Timothy Clark, AICP, of Wake County (NC) demonstrated how the Planning Department is using Lotus Notes to publish all planning documents online. William D. Myer, AICP, of the Lenexa (KS) Planning Department demonstrated Lenexa's general plan, which is available entirely online in a powerful interactive format. Chris Steins of Urban Insight in Los Angeles (CA) demonstrated several strategies for citizen engagement including Neighborhood Knowledge Los Angeles (nkla.ucla.edu) project at the University of California Los Angeles, and PLANetizen (www.planetizen.com) -- a web-based information exchange for the urban planning community.

Thanks to Chris Steins