American Planning Association

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TikTok's TalkingCities Makes Urban Planning Fast and Easy to Grasp Aug 18, 2021

Show notes

If you're not on TikTok, you might not know that urban planning is going viral. But accounts like TalkingCities, run by Paul Stout, and others are distilling complex planning topics into bitesized, easily digestible videos. And viewers are eating them up. Paul's account has more than 150,000 followers and 3 million–plus likes. He bills it as "an introduction to urban design, city planning, and architecture," an avenue for teens and adults who don't know urban planning exists to become aware of it and get inspired to explore further.

APA's Lindsay Nieman chats with Paul about how he got started, what planning subjects he's most interested in, why TikTok makes his channel's success possible, and even what it's like to get recognized because of his videos. The soon-to-be first-year master's student of city and regional planning at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, also gives a bit of insight into how planners can harness the power of TikTok in their own outreach.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/tiktoks-talkingcities-makes-urban-planning-fast-and-easy-to-grasp/

Artificial Intelligence and Urban Planning: What Planners Need to Know Now Aug 12, 2021

Show notes

You might not realize it, but artificial intelligence, or AI, already affects your life in countless ways. Your favorite wayfinding app? It’s powered by AI. The product recommendations you get on that e-commerce site you visit regularly? That’s AI, too. The music, movie, and TV suggestions you see on streaming platforms; the notifications from your bank alerting you to possible fraudulent activity; the wearable technology giving you health information — they’re all driven by systems that use AI. And the AI market is only expected to grow — 20 percent annually over the next few years, in fact.

In this conversation, led by APA’s research director Petra Hurtado, AICP, AI experts Neda Madi and Tom Sanchez discuss why planners need to pay attention to this technology (hint: it's already being used in many planning contexts, too). They talk in-depth about the potential impacts — positive and negative — as well as how planners can mitigate the negative ones. Their exchange is an eye-opening and ultimately inspiring dialogue for those who care about their communities.

Neda Madi is the City Infrastructure Analytics director of the Network Dynamics Lab at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Tom Sanchez is professor of Urban Affairs and Planning at Virginia Tech.

This podcast was produced in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/artificial-intelligence-and-urban-planning-what-planners-need-to-know-now/

Philadelphia is Transforming Vacant Lots into Climate-Resilient Pollinator Gardens Jul 08, 2021

Show notes

Vacant lots make up nearly 17 percent of land in U.S. cities. A history of disinvestment has contributed to a significant overlap between neighborhoods with the highest concentration of vacant lots and those most threatened by the impacts of climate change.

In Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) teamed up to solve this multipronged issue — one involving urban blight, community health, and a climate that's becoming hotter and wetter. Building on the Philadelphia LandCare program, their joint pilot project transforms vacant lots into climate-resilient pollinator gardens, using plants that are native to the region and thus better able to adapt to changing conditions. Philadelphia residents in two neighborhoods now enjoy access to nature much closer to home. The development of this green infrastructure is also opening economic doors for community members by providing skills training and creating jobs.

In this episode of the APA Podcast, planning and community health manager Sagar Shah speaks with two people close to the project: Jen Mihills, executive director of Mid-Atlantic Regional Center at the NWF; and Samir Dalal, planning manager of the Philadelphia LandCare Program at the PHS. Throughout their comprehensive discussion, which began with the 2021 National Planning Conference session Nature-Based Solutions for Creating Climate Resilient Communities, they provide actionable advice to planners looking to use similarly low-cost but high-impact solutions in their own communities.

Episode URL: https://www.planning.org/podcast/philadelphia-is-transforming-vacant-lots-into-climate-resilient-pollinator-gardens/

We Need to Outthink Wildfire, Not Try to Eliminate It May 10, 2021

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With an unprecedented season of wildfires barely in our rearview mirror, National Fire Protection Association veteran Michele Steinberg comes on the Resilience Roundtable podcast series to talk about wildfire mitigation and prevention. Her conversation with host Jim Schwab, FAICP, revolves around the NFPA’s newest policy initiative, Outthink Wildfire.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/we-need-to-outthink-wildfire-not-try-to-eliminate-it/

This episode is brought to you by Tyler Technologies

The City-Making Process Gets Focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in This Planner's Work Apr 26, 2021

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Cherie Jzar, AICP, has worked in more than a few areas of planning — from airport, transit, and comprehensive planning to community outreach and engagement. Now she's bringing her expertise to a new type of work: building more equitable policies and practices as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Coordinator for Gastonia, North Carolina. Listen as she speaks with APA editor in chief Meghan Stromberg about her work experience, who's inspired her along the way, and the insights she's gleaned from centering her career on social justice.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/the-city-making-process-gets-focused-on-diversity-equity-inclusion-in-this-planners-work/

This episode is brought to you by Granicus

"Feminist City" Author Leslie Kern on Envisioning More Equitable Urban Spaces Mar 31, 2021

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What is a feminist city? Who is a feminist city for? How do different groups of people experience the cities we live in now? And what does it all mean in a world inching toward recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic? Author Leslie Kern comes on the People Behind the Plans podcast series to untangle these questions with host Courtney Kashima, AICP.

Leslie is the director of women and gender studies and an associate professor of geography and environment at Mount Allison University. Her latest book is Feminist City: Claiming Space in a Man-Made World. In it, she argues that cities have long been sites for grappling with social questions about how we live and relate to each other, and gender has been at the top of the list of those concerns. The two explore the myriad challenges women face living in and navigating spaces built largely for a narrow subset of the population, and they close their discussion by sharing tips for planners looking to increase gender equity in their urban — or regional, suburban, or rural — spheres.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/feminist-city-author-leslie-kern-on-envisioning-more-equitable-urban-spaces/

Why Planners Need to Prepare for Urban Air Mobility Mar 25, 2021

Show notes

According to NASA, by 2028, urban air mobility is likely to be a commercially viable market for air metro services in the U.S. In addition, companies such as Amazon, UPS, or Walmart have been experimenting with drone deliveries in cities across the country. In this episode of the podcast, Petra Hurtado, APA’s research director, talks with Heather Sauceda Hannon, AICP, associate director of planning practice and scenario planning at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, and Ric Stephens, senior aviation planner at NV5, about why it is so important for planners to get involved in the discussions around this emerging transportation system. The three discuss what urban air mobility means, how it will impact cities and communities, and how planners can start preparing to ensure an equitable and sustainable implementation.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/why-planners-need-to-prepare-for-urban-air-mobility/

This podcast episode was produced in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Planning for Volcanic Activity in Hawaii Mar 12, 2021

Show notes

In 2018, eruptions from the Kīlauea volcano caused widespread devastation to Hawaii's Big Island. It decimated more than 700 structures and uprooted more than 3,000 people. Resilience Roundtable host Jim Schwab, FAICP, talks with Douglas Le, AICP, disaster recovery officer with the ‎County of Hawaii, to learn about the particularities of volcanic eruptions — a natural hazard few planners deal with.

Douglas explains their unique geological nature, but he also describes concerns of postdisaster recovery that will be familiar to planners everywhere, such as helping residents who lost their homes get access to the funding they need to rebuild.

Guiding much of the county's recovery work is the Kīlauea Recovery and Resilience Plan, the overarching strategy that was released in late 2020 and features in Jim and Douglas's discussion. Throughout the conversation, Douglas underscores the balance that planners must strike to help provide immediate relief to residents while looking to the future, to make the entire community as strong as possible.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/planning-for-volcanic-activity-in-hawaii/

Katanya Raby Continues Equity Work of Civil Rights Giant Al Raby Feb 23, 2021

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Urban planner, artist, and activist Katanya Raby joins host Courtney Kashima, AICP, to talk about her work at the Office of the Mayor for the City of Chicago, her time at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), and her post as executive director of the Al Raby Foundation. The organization aims to educate communities about its namesake, Katanya's grandfather, and carry on his legacy of fighting for civil rights and equity for those who have been disenfranchised. The two planners also talk drone photography, using racial equity impact assessments in public-sector work, and how even young kids can grasp complex urban planning scenarios.

Episode URL: https://planning.org/podcast/katanya-raby-continues-equity-work-of-civil-rights-giant-al-raby/

Is Your Environment Limiting Your Functioning? Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Esther Greenhouse has a unique job title: built environmental strategist. She is also an environmental gerontologist, specializing in design for older adults, and she points out that the built environment often does not allow people of all ages and abilities to function at their highest level. For many, it limits functioning, which is a phenomenon known as environmental press. A big takeaway from that early work, she tells Meghan Stromberg, editor in chief of the American Planning Association, during their conversation, is that “a crucial problem that we have in our society is not understanding that the status quo of how we design and build is actually already for a subset of the population." She argues that we’re not thinking about these design limitations on a wide-enough scale or enacting changes quickly enough — a reality the pandemic has and will complicate in myriad ways. But she offers solutions, as well as eye-opening reasons why cities and towns must value their older citizens as much as they value younger adults.