Coalitions and Memberships

APA works with other organizations on planning issues ranging from sprawl to transportation. Here are some of APA's partners.

American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
APA is a member of ACORE, which was formed in 2001 and works to bring all forms of renewable energy into the mainstream of America's economy and lifestyle. APA participates in the annual policy forum in Washington, D.C., and has attended the annual Renewable Energy Finance Forum in New York City.

Alliance for Regional Stewardship (ARS)
APA is a member of ARS, which is a national, peer-to-peer network of regional leaders working across boundaries to solve tough community problems. The network supports these leaders and their efforts by helping them learn about effective practices from other regions, develop their own civic leadership skills, and design and carry out strategies for breakthrough results.

Complete Streets Coalition
APA is on the steering committee of the Complete Streets Coalition, which was formed in 2005 to promote a change in the way that streets and roads are designed to accommodate all types of users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, transit users, and people of all ages and disabilities.

Community Design Partnership
Formed by ASLA and the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the partnership brings together an array of public health, government, design, and development-related associations to promote health through better land use planning and design.

Green Communities Initiative
The American Planning Association joins with the Enterprise Foundation, the Natural Resources Defense Council, AIA, and other organizations in the Green Communities Initiative. Launched in the fall of 2004, the initiative is a five-year, $550 million commitment to build more than 8,500 environmentally friendly affordable homes across the U.S.

KnowledgePlex
APA is a founding partner of this website designed to link activists, scholars, and policymakers in the fields of affordable housing and community development. The site, developed by the Fannie Mae Foundation, features a wide array of articles and research reports, a daily "news feed" of relevant stories from 300 media sources, and links to partner websites. Visitors to KnowledgePlex are also invited to join "communities of interest," where they can engage in chats and share documents.

National Building Museum
The National Building Museum is America's premier cultural institution dedicated to exploring and celebrating architecture, design, engineering, construction, and urban planning. APA has partnered with the NBM on a number of events and programs, such as the annual L'Enfant Lecture on City Planning and Design, and will partner again in 2008 on a Green Communities Exhibit.

National Housing Conference
The National Housing Conference is a public policy and affordable housing advocacy organization that advocates for national policies and legislation that promote suitable housing in a safe and decent environment.

National Low-Income Housing Coalition
The NLIHC is national advocacy organization committed to ending America's affordable housing crisis.

National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to saving historic places and revitalizing America's communities. Recipient of the National Humanities Medal, the Trust was founded in 1949 and provides leadership, education, advocacy, and resources to protect the irreplaceable places that tell America’s story.

National Vacant Properties Campaign
The National Vacant Properties Campaign was launched by in 2003 to advocate for property reclamation and offer technical assistance to communities. It is designed to help local governments and nonprofits throughout the country develop effective solutions to the pervasive problem of property abandonment — from producing cutting-edge research, identifying and disseminating policy innovations and best practices, and presenting model legislation. APA is a member of the Campaign Advisory Committee.

Partnership for Play Every Day
This is a nationwide, action-oriented partnership of unprecedented scope. Convened by the YMCA of the USA, the National Recreation and Park Association and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, the partnership is made up of a diverse group of premier organizations from the public, nonprofit and private sectors, including the American Planning Association. Its goal is to increase opportunities for quality play, spaces for play, and voices for play through modes such as policies, school programs, community design, and land use planning.   

PERSI (Practice, Education, and Research for Sustainable Infrastructure)
Convened by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), this alliance of leading organizations in the design and construction fields was formally launched in 2006 to promote sustainable infrastructure such as buildings, water resources, transportation, energy generation, and waste treatment.

Property Fairness Campaign
APA is a founding member of this campaign, which provides resources to support the plans and programs that protect neighborhoods, increase quality of life, ensure fairness, and allow citizens to plan and create communities of lasting value. Property Fairness helps residents oppose takings proposals and other efforts to undermine vital locally adopted protections for homeowners and communities and impose tremendous costs on taxpayers.

Scenic America
Scenic America exists to safeguard America's natural beauty and community character by fostering civic engagement, educating through demonstration projects, and raising public awareness.

Smart Growth America
APA is a partner in Smart Growth America, a nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow: one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, preserves scenic and historic resources, and makes communities more livable.

Smart Growth Network
APA is a partner in the Smart Growth Network, created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in response to increasing community concerns about the need for new ways to grow that boost the economy, protect the environment, and enhance community vitality. The network's partners include environmental groups, historic preservation organizations, professional organizations, developers, real estate interests, and local and state government entities.

Source Water Collaborative
Sponsored by EPA's Office of Ground Water and Drinking Water and its Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds, the collaborative consists of more than 20 organizations representing water utilities, cities and counties, and conservation groups.

Stafford Act Coalition
Each organization in the coalition represents members across the nation who are involved at the state or local levels with disaster planning, disaster response and recovery, and mitigation of potential adverse impacts of disasters. Recently the coalition has focused on working with U.S. Congress on the following: pre-disaster mitigation programs, post-disaster mitigation programs, the Flood Map Modernization Initiative, and repetitive flood loss mitigation programs.

Surface Transportation Policy Project
APA serves on the steering committee of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, which works to ensure that transportation policy and investments help conserve energy, protect environmental and aesthetic quality, strengthen the economy, promote social equity, and make communities more livable.

U.S. Green Building Council
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Its core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.