Welcome to a New Era of Planning: the APA National Conference Draws a Crowd

The American Planning Association's 2015 National Conference has launched in Seattle, with more attendees than any event since before the recession.

3 minute read

April 19, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


American Planning Association 2015

Joe Szurszewski / American Planning Association

The headline prior to the commencement of the APA National Conference on April 18 in Seattle, Washington was that the event would draw 6,200 attendees. By April 19, APA President Bill Anderson, FAICP, was on stage prior to the event's keynote address quoting an expanded attendance figure of 6,400. The 2015 version of the APA's premier event, in fact, has drawn the second-largest number of attendees in the event's history. Only Las Vegas, in 2008, drew more.

Theories are flying about why this year's event is so popular. Anderson followed the attendance statistic by speculating that it's proof of the profession's recovery from the recession. Surely, cities, counties, and states that only three or four years ago might have flirted with bankruptcy know have enough cash on hand to send planners on a flight to the upper left-hand corner of the country to get caught up on the state of the art and best practices of the field.

The attendance figure also speaks well of Seattle's charms as a host city, full of relevant planning case studies. Paul Inghram, local co-host of the event's local host committee, describes Seattle as an example of the trends in planning around the country. "People look to Seattle to see what we're doing from a planning standpoint," says Ingraham, citing sustainable environmental planning, technology innovation, and growth as some of the areas Seattle and the Pacific Northwest has shown leadership in the practice of planning.

Inghram also notes that Seattle and the Pacific Northwest boast a well-populated, homegrown culture of planning. "We have a big, active [APA] chapter in the state, beyond Seattle," says Inghram. According to Inghram, those ranks are supplemented by local attendees coming from the non-planner ranks of neighborhood advocates, social services professionals, housing experts, engineers, planning commissioners, and land use attorneys.

At least one attendee—in jest, to be sure—has speculated that legal marijuana in Washington and legal everything in Las Vegas have possibly contributing to the record breaking pace set by the events held in those cities.

But it's impossible to ignore the evidence of a stronger economy at the conference. A strong economy inspires larger numbers of people to congregate, so lines at registration and on the Washington State Convention Center's escalators mimic freeways flush with commuters or shipping tankers queued up outside the nation's ports. Event planners (ahem) have redoubled their efforts and redistributed administrative duties in response to the demand for the conference's services.

When the crash came in 2008, I was working the planning beat in California—I heard more than one planner look for the silver lining of slashed budgets, early retirement, dormant developers, and extinct redevelopment by talking about taking a good, hard look at our priorities and preventing the kind of mistakes in planning, design, and engineering that contributed to the recession. In the most optimistic possible take on the disaster that was settling around us all, the recession offered planning and its related fields a moment to pause and collect ourselves.

That moment is over. Now a growing number of planners has gathered in the fastest growing city in the United States. Now that the signs of recovery are all around us, let's hope the ideas, projects, and innovations that make the boom times exciting recall the lessons and improvements of the recession.

As stated by keynote speaker Ron Sims, former secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to kick off the event this morning: "Do not tell me you are in a profession that is indifferent to consequence. There is no such thing as an innocent plan." Let's remember that message about the power of planning in the good times, as with the bad.

A small portion of the crown on hand at the morning's keynote address. (Image by Joe Szurszewski, courtesy of the American Planning Association)

James Brasuell

James Brasuell, AICP is the former editorial director of Planetizen and is now a senior public affairs specialist at the Southern California Association of Governments. James managed all editorial content and direction for Planetizen from 2014 to 2023, and was promoted from manging editor to editorial director in 2021. After a first career as a class five white water river guide in Trinity County in Northern California, James started his career in Los Angeles as a volunteer at a risk reduction center in Skid Row.

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 4, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Metrorail train pulling into newly opened subterranean station in Washington, D.C. with crowd on platform taking photos.

Congressman Proposes Bill to Rename DC Metro “Trump Train”

The Make Autorail Great Again Act would withhold federal funding to the system until the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), rebrands as the Washington Metropolitan Authority for Greater Access (WMAGA).

June 2, 2025 - The Hill

White and yellow DART light rail train in Dallas, Texas with brick building in background.

DARTSpace Platform Streamlines Dallas TOD Application Process

The Dallas transit agency hopes a shorter permitting timeline will boost transit-oriented development around rail stations.

May 28, 2025 - Mass Transit

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8 - Fast Company

Aerial view of Rancho Cucamonga, California with suburban commercial center and large palm trees at sunset with mountains in background.

Car-Centric LA Suburb Looks to a Train-Oriented Future

City leaders in Rancho Cucamonga, the future western terminus of the Brightline West rail line to Las Vegas, want to reimagine the city as a transit-oriented, pedestrian-friendly community.

June 8 - Bloomberg CityLab

Ground level view of Alaska Pipeline oil pipeline near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska with bare mountains in background.

New Alaska Bitcoin Mine Would Burn as Much Energy as the State’s Largest Coal Plant

Fueled by “stranded” natural gas, the startup hopes to become the largest in the US, and to make Alaska an industry center.

June 8 - Alaska Beacon

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Write for Planetizen