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July 8, 2020 |
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As communities work toward recovery, planners and decision makers must use this moment to build back better. Recovery is reinvention — and federal action can be a vehicle for planners to address today's most existential issues.
The House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis has detailed a comprehensive congressional agenda for tackling climate change — and planning could play a leading role. APA provided the Select Committee with ideas for how federal climate policy can set the context for effective local and regional plans.
The proposed policies in the report highlight planners' critical roles in several areas, particularly infrastructure, energy, environmental justice, and resiliency. Addressing climate impacts on vulnerable communities are also major themes of the recommendations.
APA is currently updating policy positions and recommendations for climate change as part of expanded advocacy to ensure that Washington acts on this critical, essential issue. As the report itself cautions, "we cannot wait." |
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RESOURCES |
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PAS Report
Infrastructure resilience for community resilience
Across the country, communities face higher risks of flooding and cascading impacts and sea level rise caused by climate change. It is necessary to go beyond direct impacts on physical infrastructure as more severe and frequent flooding can expose a community's underlying inequalities.
Planning for Infrastructure Resilience offers planners a road map — from preparation to implementation — for ensuring that public infrastructure is resilient to flood and climate impacts for decades to come. |
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Planning
Social spaces, physical distance
The pandemic is redefining our public spaces. As the weather heats up and communities head outside, how can we make them more resilient and equitable? Plus: The campaign connecting parks and people with a 10-minute walk. |
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Planning
How cities acted on COVID-19
As the U.S. sets new case records, we review the data and policies that helped local governments bend the curve last spring. |
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Zoning Practice
Overlay zoning for source water protection
In July's Zoning Practice, explore the role of land use regulations, specifically overlay zoning, to protect source water. Learn more about the dynamic between human and natural systems and understand regulatory steps planners and municipalities can take to protect source water at both the local and regional scales. |
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Research KnowledgeBase
Improving public health, expanding green building
Green building encompasses a wide range of planning, design, and construction practices that seek to reduce energy and water use, improve indoor air quality, and minimize pollution. Explore Green Building in APA's Research KnowledgeBase — free for APA members — to discover resources that provide background, research, and policy guidance and demonstrate how cities and counties are using plans, regulations, and programs to require or create incentives for green building practices. |
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APA NEWS |
Ensure you're receiving APA election emails
APA Elections are quickly approaching, and we need your help to ensure the broadcast email arrives safely in your inbox on July 16-17. Please add noreply@directvote.net as an approved sender in your inbox. If you do not receive your election email by July 18, contact support@directvote.net. |
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OPPORTUNITIES |
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Reimagine civic services to be stronger and more resilient
The National Science Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has launched the Civic Innovation Challenge. Teams of research partners and civic partners will compete for awards of up to $1 million to build innovative mobility and resilience projects. Submit proposals by August 3. |
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Hindsight 2020: "Our Health, Our Future" request for proposals
The Hindsight conference focuses on urban planning through an equity lens and is organized by APA's New York Metro Chapter's Diversity Committee. This year, Hindsight is taking place virtually November 12-13 with a theme of "Our Health, Our Future." Each year, the conference honors a significant urban planning and equity-related milestone to not only shed light on the discriminatory history of planning and its role in shaping today's inequitable places, but also to highlight planning as a means of achieving more inclusive, just, and equitable communities. Read more about the conference, and submit your proposal by August 5. |
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YOUR MEMBERSHIP |
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Send questions or comments about Interact to interact@planning.org.
Interact is a member e-newsletter of the American Planning Association and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Interested in advertising with APA? Contact rbarkin@townsend-group.com to learn more. |
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2020 American Planning Association. All rights reserved. |
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