Zoning codes, adopted by thousands of local governments across the country, dictate much of what can be built in the United States. While each zoning code can be written slightly differently, they are commonly slight iterations on a similar theme. Planners are quite familiar with the direct and indirect impacts of zoning codes and development regulations can have on housing availability, transportation, education, the food supply, economic opportunity, and access to nature.

This webinar will introduce the topic of drafting planning rules as computer code from international case studies. Despite being on the radar of the PropTech sector, planners themselves are currently unprepared for the wide-reaching changes this technology poses for plan drafting and development review. Planners however have an important role to play to ensure that coded rules match intended planning outcomes and that transparency and human accountability is maintained in the implementation of any automated assessment processes.

“The plan wasn’t implemented.” This is an all-too-common lament about comprehensive plans. It is a proverbial tale familiar even to those who are not planners. A plan sits on the shelf and collects dust. There are different things planners can do to create plans that are practical and lead to results. This webcast will discuss the “implementable comprehensive plan” approach, affirmative principles and steps communities can employ to create plans elected officials and citizens embrace and partners join in help implement. The webcast will highlight case studies and lessons learned as the “implementable comprehensive plan” has grown as a movement in Pennsylvania. The webcast will discuss five keys for an implementable plan. The keys include specific suggestions for a plan’s content, organization, process steps, and participants. The webinar will take a closer look at how the five keys have been applied in recent comprehensive plans to better involve elected officials and the public, undertake problem-solving work sessions, design workable action plans, and create capacity to implement the plan. The webinar will challenge planners. Are they driven by helping a community achieve its aspirations and address its problems and needs or by the exercise of writing a book? Do they focus on the real issues a community is facing or a perceived statutory template? Webcast presenters Denny Puko and Jim Pashek are pioneers of the implementable plan approach. Ideas they will present come from their new book Off the Shelf and Into Action, How to Create an Implementable Comprehensive Plan.

Roundabouts are becoming more common in American communities as a powerful tool for moving traffic while enhancing walkability for people of all ages, especially when designed well. Dan Burden of Blue Zones LLC, one of America’s leading walkability experts, is featured as this month speaker in APA’s Urban Design & Preservation Division webinar series to examine the most essential design features of roundabouts, as well as how to design and operate them for walking, bicycling, driving, and freight movement, illustrating what works best and why.

The Policy and Advocacy Conference will present an opportunity to ensure last year's landmark investments in planning deliver on the promise for a more equitable, resilient future. This is your opportunity to network with fellow planners across the country, participate in professional development sessions, and hear from top decision-makers to advance legislation that is important to you.

This session is geared toward planning consultants at all levels, but can also be useful for planners with communities or agencies that use planning consultants. First will be a presentation on topics brought up by our members during our monthly PPD meetings. Then we will have a facilitated discussion to respond to questions, inviting attendees to weigh in on their experience.

This webinar will describe different approaches and use cases for public charging infrastructure, the kinds of considerations communities need to take in land use planning, and the emerging best practices in land use regulation for EV-charging.

The past three years have shone a light on the strengths and shortcomings of planning and zoning through events like the 2020 protests for social justice, the pandemic, environmental crises, and the housing crisis. There is an increasing appreciation for walkable environments, and how they can improve health, the environment, mobility, and connectivity. Our firm, which focuses on zoning codes, has been critically examining the services we provide, and how we can both meet modern challenges and also try to acknowledge and repair past harms. As professionals, we are trying to do better. In this episode, we’ll talk about how we can critically examine zoning codes to center equity, resiliency, and walkability in our land use policy.

Did you know that local sign ordinances can advance or deter the idea of social equity in your community? For example, in Brooklyn, NY, "Old School" large lettering and repetition generates a sense of inclusivity and openness, while brevity, wordplay and other linguistic elements of gentrifying "New School" signage signal exclusion. The authors of What the Signs Say will analyze two critically different types of local retail signage to help planners and local officials examine how sign regulations may contribute to inequity and exclusions. This session will incorporate ethnographic observation, interviews and storefront texts from Brooklyn, New York, to discover signage models and methods that ensure equity, diversity and inclusion.

This session will educate participants on the causes of urban flooding, how urban flooding differs from river and coastal flooding, and how climate change is driving more frequent and dangerous urban flooding disasters. Participants will gain knowledge of how the decisions we make as planners can exacerbate the problem or help to improve outcomes.

Whether you're attending for education, networking, or taking in the latest products and services, the event's benefits extend beyond Conference week. Boost your professional development and get the tools to build stronger communities.

The premiere downtown economic development event of the year, the annual New Jersey Downtown Conference hosts industry experts who provide insights into downtown management best practices, as well as development, business and retail market trends.

At-risk communities are disproportionately impacted both by increased flooding and the policy and market responses to flooding conditions. In this context, what is “social equity” and how is it related to climate resilience for all? How can planners ensure an equitable response to flooding?

As climate conditions change, understanding what data and tools are available to inform planning decisions is critical. This webinar features a climate data & technology vendor panel to introduce urban planners to data and tools to help communities reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and respond to climate impacts.

The Watershed Conference is an opportunity for learning, brainstorming, discussing, and planning solutions to the problems faced by New Jersey’s watersheds. We will focus on the updates to the Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) permit, regional solutions to address polluted stormwater runoff and flooding, environmental justice, and the need for community-wide action. Learn alongside municipal representatives, engineers, environmental professionals, watershed advocates, business leaders, and community members through roundtable discussions, hands-on sessions, and networking.