Online Webinar

“Not in My Back Yard” is often rooted in fear of loss of quality of life, property values, environmental degradation, health effects, or distrust in technology, government, and management. Other triggers can be ideology or impacts on symbolic places. NIMBY-ism is not simply a U.S. phenomenon, it happens everywhere. Research from around the world reveals useful techniques for anticipating NIMBY arguments, improving systems to avoid triggers, and recognition of the importance of cultures where “we are in this together” versus “everyone for themselves”.

Automating software workflows enables planners to conduct analysis to inform decision making accurately and efficiently, opening up more time to engage with results. In this webcast, planners will be introduced to the capabilities of ArcGIS Pro's Model Builder, with a focus on its components and advanced features like iterators and model-specific functions. The session will provide practical tips for creating efficient, modular workflows alongside guidance on developing parameterized tools from models, and considering aspects like workspaces and documentation. Additionally, we'll discuss the limitations of Model Builder in handling highly complex workflows. This session is tailored for planners looking to integrate GIS automation into their work, offering practical insights for effective application to common planning tasks.

One of the barriers we face today for addressing sustainable water strategies is that we failed to emphasize these issues within our primary, secondary and higher educational programs. We have now reached a point where the actions needed to make our water systems sustainable will deeply involve everyone, not just technical policy experts, and the general public and even our current generation of land and water planners are ill prepared for this challenge. Fortunately, the issues of water sustainability are not just short term but will be generational. We still have time to incorporate these issues into our public and professional educational programs. For the last decade Arizona State University has been developing web-based tools to help educate the next generation of water and land planners and the general public about water sustainability. This webinar will explore three online tools, WaterSim, Arizona Water Chatbot, and Arizona Blueprint. Attendees will have an opportunity to use each of the tools and how they can be used to inform a wide range of audiences on these issues.

When carefully planned with their surroundings, new sports facilities offer the opportunity to revitalize communities, promote economic development, and create great places. Learn lessons from renowned urban designer and architect Janet Marie Smith, who was instrumental in designing the pioneering Orioles Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, the renovation of Fenway Park in Boston, and the recent modernization of Dodgers Stadium in Los Angeles.

The Census Bureau has valuable data that are helpful for community planning, analyzing, reporting, grant-writing, etc. In this Webinar, you will learn about popular Census Bureau surveys and the type of information you can access from them. You will receive a brief tour of the Census Bureau’s website and live demonstrations of popular data retrieval tools to help you find data quickly and build a customized data query. Topics include the various geographical levels of how data can be accessed, where and how to find data regarding your community such as population, demographic makeup, economic, and housing, and the various data view/download options, to include data tables, Excel spreadsheets, and mapping features.

Trails are part of a resilient transportation infrastructure system and can be planned and designed to be resilient and sustainable, as well as play a role in emergency planning and response. Trails of all kinds are places for recreation, exercise, and active transportation. They are also a crucial tool for making communities more resilient in the face of climate change and other emergencies. Multi-use trails can help reduce carbon emissions by shifting more trips to walking, biking, and rolling. Urban, suburban, and rural trail corridors present opportunities for managing stormwater, improving water quality, providing wildlife habitat, and inhibiting the spread of fires, among other benefits. However, trails can also be particularly vulnerable to climate impacts. This session will examine the ways in which planners can work towards making trail infrastructure more resilient to environmental shocks and stresses as well as towards allowing trails to strengthen the resilience of the surrounding community. Presenters from Trust for Public Land and Toole Design Group will provide information and guidance in support of these goals, based on recent programs and experience.

In water-scarce regions, the lack of availability of water supply often constrains the ability of communities to approve new residential and commercial development. A building moratorium has sometimes been declared in California communities and elsewhere. The City of Phoenix is now undergoing an evaluation of how new development can proceed in the face of Colorado River Basin shortages. But a solution is at hand.