Jonathan Nettler of Planetizen has been following the American Planning Association’s National Planning Conference closely. The annual event has brought together experts from across the country, who all came to Chicago to discuss the present and future of how we lay out the world in which we live.
Here are just a couple of the highlights:
- Outgoing APA President Mitchell Silver addressed the need to emphasize return on investment (ROI) in making the argument for leveraging the existing infrastructure of urban environments to generate economic development and tax revenues, versus throwing good money after bad into the ponzi scheme that is sprawl-based development. Nettler also took the opportunity to touch on how the built environment can affect health, and the importance of utilizing open spaces to help keep health care costs down.
- Eugenie Birch, FAICP, Lawrence C. Nussdorf Chair of Urban Research and Education at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke at the session on “Emerging Trends & The Future of Planning.” She covered her task force findings on the issues and trends that planners currently face, as well as what U.S. planners can expect going forward. Among them are declining infrastructure, a growing labor force in need of jobs and an ever-aging population.
Go here for Nettler’s complete coverage of this year’s conference.
