PAS Memo Contributor Guidelines

PAS Memo is a bi-monthly, online publication of the Planning Advisory Service. The audience for PAS Memo is subscribing city and county planning agencies, consulting firms, nonprofit organizations, and libraries.

There are approximately 1,100 organizations that subscribe to the service, providing a PAS Memo readership of approximately 6,000 practicing planners.

Overview

PAS Memo focuses on cutting-edge planning issues as well as best-practice updates on nuts-and-bolts planning topics. It highlights trends in the field, notes research studies of interest to planners, and presents case examples from many aspects of planning practice, such as growth management, economic development, environmental protection, and urban design, to name just a few.

Each issue comprises one feature article illustrated with tables, charts, and photos, as appropriate.

Feature Articles

In-house Planning Advisory Service staff review and edit feature articles. APA retains copyright to all PAS Memo articles. 

Feature articles are submitted electronically in Word format. Length of feature articles generally range from 3,800 to 4,800 words.

Articles typically follow this format:

• an introductory section, providing definitions and a background for the story;
• an extensive discussion of the topic, with items such as key issues, case studies, and sample policies or codes; and
• a conclusion section that includes recommendations and action steps for planners.      

Because the publication's audience is practitioners across the country, the articles need to present information that is transferable to various contexts, with the goal of answering the question: "Why is this important for planners to know?"

Formatting

The following formatting requirements are necessary to follow, so that the website editor can ensure that your text displays properly and will not need to be reformatted:

• Do not tab indent paragraphs.
• Use two hard returns after each paragraph.
• Do not use underlining.
• You may use bold and italics.

Artwork

In addition to text, each feature article will include artwork, such as tables, charts, photographs, and drawings, as appropriate, to support the story. All artwork must be titled and numbered (e.g., Table 1. Types of Review). Authors must provide caption and credit information for each piece of artwork. The author must identify the source for each piece of artwork submitted. APA requires that the author obtain full rights to use the art for the feature article. The copyright for the art will then be transferred to APA as a nonexclusive right for use in PAS Memo.

Artwork must be submitted electronically in graphic file format, no wider than 500 pixels, and in color, if possible. Avoid images with small embedded text, as text tends to be unreadable when images are resized for the web. Do not embed graphics into the Word file. All graphics must be submitted individually in a graphics file format (.pdf, .jpg, .gif). Embedded images are not usable on the web.

Resources

PAS Memo's electronic format makes a list of links to online resources for planners especially useful. Resources should include any planning documents or reports referenced in the text, as well as related websites or other documents providing further information on the subject to the reader.

References

PAS Memo does not use footnotes to cite sources or references. Instead, use the author-date system of reference fully described in The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 2003), chapter 16.  For example:

Performance standards seem to have greater allure than ever before (Duerksen 1996, 41).

Alphabetize a "List of References" by the author's last name. Again, consult Chapter 16 of The Chicago Manual of Style. APA uses the humanities style. For example:

Duerksen, Christopher J. 1996. "Key Legal Issues in Performance Standards and Zoning." Chapter 7 in Performance Standards for Growth Management, edited by Douglas R. Porter. Planning Advisory Service Report No. 461. Chicago:  American Planning Association.

Kendig, Lane, et al. 1980. Performance Zoning. Chicago: American Planning Association.

Lucy, William H. 1996. "If Planning Includes Too Much, Maybe It Should Include More."  Journal of the American Planning Association 60, no. 3: 305-18.

Submission Guidelines

The editors of PAS Memo welcome proposals. Once a proposal is accepted, the author will sign an agreement to prepare a manuscript for publication. The editors will notify the author of the article’s anticipated publication date, as well as the outline and draft manuscript deadlines.

Typically, an outline is due four months and the draft manuscript two months before the publication date. The author will also sign a copyright form for the article and any images. PAS Memo is released the first week of alternating months, beginning with January, six times a year.

For more information on submitting an article for PAS Memo, please contact the editors at pasmemo@planning.org.