Every year hundreds of local governments hire consultants to help them with planning projects. But few planning officials go through the process often enough to feel confident in choosing consultants wisely, working with them effectively, and getting the best results from the relationships. Working With Planning Consultants shows not only how to hire a good consultant but how to be a good client--one who gets good value from the investment in consulting services.
Today's planners use myriad tools and techniques to identify and protect what is special about their communities: historic preservation ordinances, improved sign controls, computerized viewshed protection regulations, tree-planting and landscaping requirements, cell tower controls, and more. As the level of preservation activity has increased dramatically, so has the number of court cases challenging aesthetic-based regulation.
Vacant land is a common sight in virtually every American city. Scattered among houses in residential areas, especially in distressed neighborhoods, small and large vacant, trash-filled lots contribute to an appearance of blight. Abandoned factories and warehouses—some of which are brownfields with hazardous wastes in their soil—mar waterfronts and old industrial corridors. Large metropolitan communities have been especially affected by the dilemma of abandoned land. Coming to terms with the issues and problems surrounding vacant land is a difficult challenge. Little, if any, precedent exists. In most cities, planners and developers typically view vacant land as the space that is left over after housing, commercial, and institutional development schemes have been built. So the potential uses of vacant land become isolated from other aspects of neighborhood planning and development. Nonprofit organizations, city officials, and observers across the country indicate that the growing scale of vacancy requires new perspectives on urban land use and management and that existing assumptions and practices need a comprehensive re-evaluation since current methods clearly are not working. This report was developed out of a series of documents on urban vacant land by one of the leading groups in the country dealing with this issue: the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, which also supported the color printing in this report. Part 1 of the report addresses the challenges to urban vitality presented by vacant land; vacant land as a neighborhood resource; large-scale greening systems; and the link between urban renewal and sprawl. Part 2 provides an in-depth look at some PHS programs, including the rebirth of the New Kensington Philadelphia neighborhood and the Green City Strategy employed by the City of Philadelphia. An appendix provides a list of contacts to the many community development corporations active in the area of urban greening.
Planning for sustainability is the defining challenge of the 21st century. More than any other single endeavor, it confronts the critical perils to our future, from energy shortages and environmental stress to climate shifts and population surges. That's the argument of a forward-looking new report from the American Planning Association. In plain language, authors David R. Godschalk, FAICP, and William R. Anderson, FAICP, show how cities, towns, and regions can work together to meet the challenge. These leading planners put forward eight principles for developing comprehensive plans that address today's needs without compromising the needs of the next generation. Case studies demonstrate sustainability planning at work in cities including Seattle and San Diego and smaller communities like Keene, New Hampshire, and Union County, Pennsylvania. Sustaining Places gives planners, local officials, and involved citizens a practical framework for understanding today's concerns and a roadmap for moving toward a better future. The report culminates the American Planning Association's multiyear, multifaceted Sustaining Places Initiative.
This report gives planners a complete understanding of why fiscal impact analyses are so important and how they can better design and execute them in their communities. The common methodologies are explained, critiqued, and put under a microscope, so that planners can see the impact of each component on the resulting analysis.
Lawsuits challenging the disproportionate effects of government decisions on low-income and minority communities are on the rise. Studies show that low-income families and racial minorities are more likely to suffer from health issues related to pollution. Grassroots environmental justice groups are increasingly fighting the siting of LULUs in low-income and minority communities. The principles these groups adopt are good planning principles: that no person or neighborhood should be burdened by harmful environmental conditions and that all persons should have the opportunity for meaningful participation in the decisions affecting the health, safety, and identity of their community. This report, from APA's Planning Advisory Service, explains how the principles of environmental justice can be incorporated into land-use planning processes.
The practice of comprehensive planning is changing dramatically in the 21st century to address the pressing need for more sustainable, resilient, and equitable communities. Drawing on the latest research and best practice examples, The Comprehensive Plan: Sustainable, Resilient, and Equitable Communities for the 21st Century provides an in-depth resource for planning practitioners, elected officials, citizens, and others seeking to develop effective, impactful, comprehensive plans, grounded in authentic community engagement, as a pathway to sustainability. Based on standards developed by the American Planning Association to provide a national benchmark for sustainable comprehensive planning, this book provides detailed guidance on the substance, process, and implementation of comprehensive plans that address the critical challenges facing communities in the 21st century.
The latest edition of The Illustrated Book of Development Definitions breaks new ground. It addresses traditional and new planning problems: natural and industrial disasters such as hurricanes and oil spills; new housing types and living accommodations; changes in urban design and practice like new urbanism; sustainability; pedestrian and bicycle friendly environments; and more. Joining Harvey S. Moskowitz and Carl G. Lindbloom, authors of the first three editions, are two prominent, nationally known planners: David Listokin and Richard Preiss. Attorney Dwight H. Merriam adds legal annotations to almost all 2,276 definitions. These citations from court decisions bridge the gap between land use theory and real world application, bringing a new dimension to this edition. More than 20,000 copies of previous editions were sold over four decades to professionals and government representatives, such as members of planning and zoning boards and municipal governing bodies. This first revision in ten years updates what is widely acknowledged as an essential, standard reference for planners.
