1998 Casey Symposium on Indicators

On October 29 and 30, 1998, the American Planning Association hosted a symposium in Chicago titled "Using Indicators to Advance Collaborative Planning in Neighborhoods." Neighborhood planners, indicators project managers, and indicators trainers convened to discuss how an indicators process, the planning process, and leadership skills can work in conjunction to improve the overall health of neighborhoods, particularly those that are troubled. Steve Preston, AICP, director of the LaVerne, California, Department of Community Development, served as the mini-symposium's facilitator. The program was developed and run by APA's research department.

This symposium built upon the dialogue begun at APA's first neighborhood collaborative planning symposium held in Chicago in November 1996. One conclusion drawn from that symposium was that neighborhood-scale indicators are an important tool in cultivating and sustaining socially, economically, and environmentally healthy neighborhoods. Indicators have been used to track changes in neighborhood conditions, show the impact a program has had on the neighborhood level, and help to maintain momentum and interest in neighborhood planning processes. Indicators also provide residents with knowledge and information about their neighborhoods, which can empower neighborhood-based interests.

To guide and inform the symposium discussion, the research department commissioned four working papers. Copies of papers may be downloaded below. Proceedings from the symposium may also be downloaded below.

Working Papers

Community Policing and Planning by William M. Rohe
Defining Neighborhoods by Robert J. Chaskin
Neighborhood Balance Sheets Assess Local Economies by Kenneth A. Meter
Neighborhood Indicators: Taking Advantage of the New Potential by G. Thomas Kingsley, AICP

Symposium Proceedings

Using Indicators to Advance Collaborative Planning in Neighborhoods