Blog
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April 17, 2025
FEMA Waives Equity, Climate Requirements for Local Mitigation Plans
FEMA has issued new guidance related to requirements for incorporating underserved communities, socially vulnerable populations, and climate change into local hazard mitigation plans. Those sections are now removed from the guide outlining plan requirements. Read more on how this is affecting planning practices. -
March 27, 2025
Educational Needs for Disaster Recovery Planning
Uncovering JAPA: Explore how planners can strengthen disaster recovery efforts by embracing proactive roles, utilizing planning tools, and leading recovery initiatives to build more resilient communities. -
February 6, 2025
How Libraries Became Community Resilience Hubs
Uncovering JAPA: Learn how local public libraries act as resilience hubs in the face of economic stressors and extreme weather events — and how planners can support their role in building community resilience. -
August 15, 2024
A Cold Shower is Not Heat Resilience
Uncovering JAPA: Learn how reframing urban heat as an infrastructure issue and engaging communities in planning can build resilience against rising temperatures. -
May 16, 2024
Park Equity via Development Fees in Los Angeles
Uncovering JAPA: Explore Los Angeles' modified development fee ordinance to allocate more funds to disadvantaged park areas, proposing policy adjustments for equitable distribution. -
March 14, 2024
Residents’ Changing Perspectives on Disaster Resettlement
Uncovering JAPA: In Tacloban City, Philippines, holistic restoration, community empowerment, site development, transparent communication, and flexible participation are emphasized in post-disaster relocation efforts. -
January 2, 2024
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule Finalized by Biden Administration
The Federal Highway Administration finalized an APA-supported planning rule for greenhouse gas emissions, including the release of a reduction tool to move climate change performance measurement forward. -
November 30, 2023
The Lasting Legacy of Harmful Land-Use Regulations
Uncovering JAPA: Early land-use regulations shaped the concepts of race, which challenge today's planners to create equitable spaces. -
October 27, 2023
Examining the Role of Land Use and Regulations in Housing Development
A recap of the third convening for the Housing Supply Accelerator focusing on examining the role of regulatory processes in facilitating housing production to address shortages. -
September 20, 2023
The New Nicollet Redevelopment: Reimaging New Places and Opportunities
The 2024 Student Planning and Design Competition project site location is the New Nicollet Redevelopment, the former Kmart site in South Minneapolis, Minnesota. This project site covers 10 acres of land between the Midtown Greenway bike trail, Lake Street, First Avenue, and Blaisdell Avenue. -
June 15, 2023
Increasing Sharing Options in Housing to Improve Mental Health
Uncovering JAPA: Planners can promote sharing capabilities to create a flexible backdrop for people to live within to meet the social needs of Americans today. -
May 31, 2023
An Activist Walking Guide to Philadelphia's Chinatown
A walking tour during NPC23 illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing Philadelphia's Chinatown. -
May 12, 2023
Opening the Policy Window for Bike Lanes in Sydney
Uncovering JAPA: Learning to leverage policy windows by committing to evidence-based solutions and political coalition-building. -
April 27, 2023
Centering Equity in Planning and Public Health Collaborations
Uncovering JAPA: Without an equity focus, planning and public health collaborations can harm vulnerable communities or lead to ineffective policies. -
April 6, 2023
Applying Intersectionality as Planners to Combat Health Inequities
Uncovering JAPA: Planners must understand the multiple overlapping factors that can produce health disparities. -
February 23, 2023
Risk MAP Program's Impact on Hazard Mitigation Planning
Uncovering JAPA: Understanding the importance of combining enhanced data into a collaborative process for hazard mitigation planning. -
November 14, 2022
Elevating Community Stories Through Historic Contexts
Equity in Practice: Los Angeles City Planning's Office of Historic Resources (OHR) has prepared a series of ground-breaking historic contexts to help make historic planning initiatives more equitable. -
November 9, 2022
Building Community Relationships Through Pop Ups
Equity in Practice: Champaign, Illinois, planners use a pop up park to create a stronger relationship with the Garden Hills neighborhood. -
November 3, 2022
Revisiting the Edge City, 30 Years On
Uncovering JAPA: Analysis if the edge city is transforming or encouraging sprawl. -
July 21, 2022
Five-Part Framework to Guide Climate Relocation Plans
Uncovering JAPA: A new framework offers guidance to help planners navigate the complex process of considering disaster-related relocations. -
June 16, 2022
Supporting Nonprofits During Post Disaster Recovery
Uncovering JAPA: Researchers explore the differences of post disaster recovery on small and medium/large nonprofits and how planners can facilitate nonprofit post-disaster recovery efforts. -
May 12, 2022
Does Disaster Relief Actually Help Small Businesses?
Uncovering JAPA: As disaster relief becomes more necessary under climate change, are SBA loans for disaster recovery actually used by small businesses? -
April 7, 2022
Making Disaster Recovery More Equitable
Uncovering JAPA: The aftermath of Hurricane Dolly (2008) on the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley illustrate the need for equitable disaster recovery. -
September 28, 2021
Helping Planners Advance Disaster Recovery
APA recently published the Post-Disaster Recovery Guide for Planners — a resource that aims to help local planners working for communities that are recovering from all kinds of disasters, including catastrophic flooding and damage and disruption from cascading hazards. -
July 29, 2021
Are We Planning for Equity? Equity Goals and Recommendations in Local Comprehensive Plans
Uncovering JAPA: Do local comprehensive plans advance equitable outcomes? -
April 2, 2021
Federal Housing Bill Creates New Support and Incentives For Planning
A bipartisan bill that would empower planners to reform zoning and development codes, create housing action plans, and modernize regulatory structures has been introduced in Congress. -
March 4, 2021
Making Room For the River
Uncovering JAPA: Using the Plan Integration for Resilience Scorecard (PIRS), researchers studied the Dutch city of Nijmegen to determine how integrated planning can reduce flooding vulnerability. -
January 14, 2021
Greenspace Resilience in the Wake of Disasters
Uncovering JAPA: Get recommendations for integrating proactive and resilient greenspace improvements into disaster recovery planning. -
August 27, 2020
Life Satisfaction and Your Neighborhood Built Environment
Uncovering JAPA: Do walkability, transit, and parks improve life satisfaction? It depends. -
July 9, 2020
7 Ways to Plan a Stronger Climate Change Response
Uncovering JAPA: Current climate action plans are insufficient for the mounting climate crisis. Get seven principles to help bolster and fill the gaps in these plans. -
June 11, 2020
Sustainability Plans Can Be More Than Just Talk
Uncovering JAPA: Investing in a sustainability plan means investing in the future. -
May 27, 2020
A Necessary Paradigm Shift in How We Use Urban Space
What planning changes brought by the COVID-19 pandemic will be interim fixes, and which will stay permanently? -
May 21, 2020
Challenges to Ambitious Planning in a Shrinking City
Uncovering JAPA: Can planners overcome cultural, political, legal, and economic barriers to “smart shrinkage” strategies in shrinking cities? -
May 12, 2020
7 Ways to Respond to Regulation Rollbacks
How can planners offer sound, ethical strategies when the pandemic puts pressure on officials to ease or roll back regulations? -
January 9, 2020
Crafting a Disaster Recovery Guide With Planners in Mind
APA partnered with Texas A&M University to design a mixed-methods research project examining where planners turn for information and assistance after a disaster. -
December 19, 2019
A Ladder to More Meaningful Community Participation
Uncovering JAPA: Arnstein's Ladder of Citizen Participation can't fix community participation, but it surely provides a space from which to start. -
September 26, 2019
Research That Retrieves Lost Memories of Place
Uncovering JAPA: Engaging community members in storytelling can reveal forgotten heritage and draw new maps of the past. -
January 29, 2019
Four Plans for Shaping the Future of Puerto Rico
A summary of four plans that will shape Puerto Rico’s response to the urgent humanitarian needs of the island’s residents after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. -
October 4, 2018
Congressional Funding Could Affect Your Local Park
Funding for our parks, green spaces, and the National Park Service are on Congress's agenda. APA is calling on planning advocates to ensure these vital spaces and sources of funding will be protected. -
January 16, 2018
Living on the Edge: Get to Know Your Wildland-Urban Interface
One-third of the U.S. population lives in the wildland-urban interface (WUI). It's important for planners to consider the WUI during the community planning process due to its direct link to potential wildfire disasters. -
May 2, 2017
Planning Ahead for Disaster Recovery
FEMA recently released the Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guide for Local Governments, which provides guidance and tools for local governments. -
September 8, 2016
Big Data Gives Bryant Park Visitors a Custom Experience
With a history of catering to its crowds, Bryant Park has taken park service to the next level by tracking the purchasing habits and travel patterns through its users’ mobile devices. -
August 31, 2016
Parks Add Tremendous Value to Life in Tampa
Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa, Florida, explains why parks are so important to his growing city. -
August 24, 2016
Not Happy? Call a Planner!
The Summer 2016 issue of the Journal of the American Planning Association features two articles that encourage planners to work to improve happiness. -
August 16, 2016
The 4 Ways Urban Parks Bring Value to City Life
Vibrant, well-maintained parks bring public health, environmental, economic, and community benefits to cities. Catherine Nagel, executive director of the City Parks Alliance, highlights the value of parks and the need for greater investment. -
June 27, 2016
Parks Without Borders: A Free Vision for Urban Space
New York City Parks Commissioner Mitchell J. Silver, FAICP, discusses his plan for creating better access to neighborhood parks throughout New York and the country. -
June 20, 2016
Prioritizing Urban and Community Parks Can Boost Health and Social Equity
Parks are integral to health and social equity, and public policy must support the development of urban and community parks. -
May 16, 2016
CPAT Impact on Heritage Trail
The director of the Dubuque County Conservation Board provides an update on the successes of the Heritage Trail since the CPAT project there in late 2012. -
April 5, 2016
Federal LWCF Funding Helped Develop Phoenix's Encanto Park
The federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) provides matching state and local assistance grants to help develop parks like Encanto Park near downtown Phoenix. -
March 20, 2016
Support Federal Data and Funding Programs that Strengthen American Communities
Federal policy plays a critical role in providing planners with the data and resources they need to create effective and sustainable plans.
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