PAS Reports

Each quarter APA's Planning Advisory Service publishes a new PAS Report providing authoritative guidance on current issues and innovative practices. Subscribing organizations automatically receive each new PAS report as it is published. Subscribers may borrow past reports and purchase them at a 50 percent discount from APAPlanningbooks.com.

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PAS Subscribers: Complete your PAS Reports collection with 90-plus selected reports now at a bargain price of $7.50. Non-subscribers pay only $15.

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Latest Report

Planning for the Deceased

Planning for the Deceased cover PAS 572Can better cemeteries make better communities? As the baby boom generation ages, demand for interment is inevitably rising. The way planners respond will have lasting impact on cities and towns.

This sensible yet sensitive guide addresses questions planners everywhere are facing. What happens to filled cemeteries? Who cares for abandoned burial grounds? What environmental regulations apply to crematoria? The authors look at public health implications, private versus public interests, and the complex web of state and federal oversight. The discussion also explores diverse religious customs and alternatives to traditional interment, from cremation to burial at sea.

Case studies show the range of creative approaches cities have adopted, from New Orleans's above-ground tombs to London's Necropolis railway to densely populated Hong Kong's tradition of cremation. An appendix lists comprehensive plans that include cemetery provisions as well as state laws that govern cemeteries, funeral homes, and crematoria. Planners, commissioners, and public officials across the country will find this report a valuable resource as they plan for the ultimate future of their communities' residents.

PAS subscribers will receive the report in April. Additional copies are available through APAPlanningBooks.com.

Chronological List of Reports

Whatever issue you're working on, chances are there's a PAS Report that covers it. Since 1949, PAS has published more than 550 reports on a wide range of planning topics. Take a look at the PAS Reports list to see all the titles in this vital resource series.

PAS subscribers: Is the title you want not on your department's bookshelf? Contact us for a loan copy, or purchase your own from the bookstore with your 50 percent PAS discount.

View a list of all PAS Reports in chronological order

Historic Reports

PAS Report No 145 coverPAS published its first Information Report in 1949. To celebrate this history, each month we're presenting a new report from the archives. We hope you enjoy these fascinating snapshots of planning issues of yesteryear.

Information Report No. 240, November 1968

Public Hearings, Controversy, and the Written Response

Controversy over planning projects and opponent-filled public hearings are nothing new within the planning field. This month's historic PAS Report from 1968 takes a no-nonsense approach in warning planners that their worst enemies may be themselves if they do not use clear, concise language, prepare adequately for public hearings, or genuinely listen to the public's suggestions for better planning decisions.

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Selected Reports Online

Looking for land use definitions? Need some examples of parking standards for a certain use? PAS Subscribers, we've provided you with digital access to the popular reports below.

Jobs-Housing Balance

PAS Report 516

This report examines a controversial concept — jobs-housing balance. Some have argued that the market is the mechanism that will achieve such balance. Jerry Weitz, in his research of four types of jobs-housing imbalance, concludes that the market has failed to achieve balance in three of the four scenarios he lays out. He provides case studies to support his findings, including one from King County, Washington, showing that increases in housing costs are more gradual in areas with a jobs-housing balance. This report counters the skeptics and points to those actions planners can take to help bring appropriate housing, jobs, and workforces together, resulting in overall community improvements.

Community Indicators

PAS Report 517

Community indicators help planners evaluate and monitor the full range of factors — social, environmental, economic, and more — that affect the well-being of a community or region. This report reviews the use of indicators in planning practice and explores their relationship to citizen participation, quality of life, and sustainability. It summarizes the types and scale of indicators and describes how to identify, select, and develop indicators that are appropriate for a particular community. Rural and urban examples show how planners have used indicators in their practice. Includes an annotated list of resources and web links.

A Planners Dictionary

PAS Report 521/522

This dictionary, a revised and updated edition of the Planning Advisory Service's best selling Glossary of Zoning, Development, and Planning Terms, contains more than 4,200 terms used by planners around the nation. This new edition contains an introduction by Harvey Moscowitz, FAICP, chief editor of The Illustrated Book of Development Definitions, and Carl Lindbloom, AICP. Contributors include many APA Research Department staff, who culled through hundreds of ordinances, plans, and planning documents to offer readers choices of definitions and commentaries that add depth and value to the dictionary.

Parking Standards

PAS Report 510/511

This report, an expanded and updated version of a previous best seller, contains an exhaustive set of parking standards and an exploration of the complexities of creating practical standards. There is general agreement that when the supply of parking greatly exceeds typical demand, the results are detrimental to a range of stakeholders. Benefits may come from minimizing off-street parking, but downsizing requirements can be tricky because many communities fear the impact on overall community development. This report addresses that quandary and explores techniques such as shared parking, maximum parking standards, downtown parking standards, and more.