Planning Assistance Teams

Planning Assistance Teams (PATs), a component of the Community Assistance Program, offer planners another opportunity to give back to communities in need of special planning support. A Planning Assistance Team is defined as a small group of volunteer planners focused on addressing a technical planning task, typically in one host community, over the course of three to five days. The planning tasks that need to be addressed typically require team members to possess technical planning skills, which will vary from team to team depending on the needs of each host community.

Due to the highly technical nature of the planning work, PATs are geared toward experienced planners who are able to "hit the ground running" thanks to their formidable planning skills. This is possible due to the efforts of the team leader and the host community, who provide background information to the rest of the team and set the team schedule. The day-to-day functioning of a PAT tends to be fast-paced and results-oriented.

In addition to the work completed in the host community during the event, PATs are expected to produce a final report that host communities may use to inform local decision makers and continue their own work in addressing planning issues. In many cases, PATs may offer a limited amount of planning support beyond the initial three to five day visit. In fact, some PATs revisit their host communities on a multi-year basis to provide further guidance on planning solutions.

The American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) will concentrate its 2006 PATs in Gulf Coast communities facing special planning challenges in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Click here to learn more and to volunteer!

Planning Assistance Teams have visited Greensboro, North Carolina (first time in 1995) to examine the damage to East Market caused by redevelopment and riots in the 1960s and poor planning after that; South Bend, Indiana (2003) to assist the mayor with planning issues after the unexpected death of the city planning director; and Philadelphia (2004) to evaluate and prioritize uses for a vast supply of vacant or boarded properties.

Click here to read the final report from the December 2004 team visit to Philadelphia.

Click here to read the final report from the July 2003 team visit to South Bend.

Click here to read the May 2000 final report from the Greensboro, North Carolina, team visit.