American Planning Association

A discussion about the work of the Plan4Health coalition in Thomas County, Kansas with Eldonna Chestnut, chair of APHA's Council of Affiliates, and Dr. Robert Moser, President-Elect of Kansas APHA.

Jack Molenaar, AICP, a transportation planner with more than 22 years of experience in both the public and private sector, give his perspective on both areas of his career, as well as his experience attending a national presidential convention.

Washington D.C.'s NoMa neighborhood has seen a tremendous amount of rapid growth in the last decade and with no land set aside for parks and publicly accessible space. We learn how that challenge is being addressed in this podcast interview with Robin Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa Business Improvement District and President of the NoMa Parks Foundation. Robin is also joined by Stacie West, Director of Parks Projects for the NoMa Parks Foundation.

APA's Career Services Manager Bobbie Albrecht interviews Riverside, California planner, Miguel Vazquez, AICP on his planning career path, including advice for emerging planning professionals on how to move forward within the field.

Mariia Zimmerman, Vice Chair of Regional Planning for APA's Regional and Intergovernmental Planning Division interviews Stephanie Gidigbi, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the U.S. Department of Transportation

Kyle Elliott, Division Manager from the Department of Long Range Planning & Preservation for Kansas City, and David Johnson, Vice Chair at the Kansas City Regional Transit Alliance, discuss the Kansas City streetcar project.

Jim Schwab, AICP, APA's manager of the Hazards Planning Research Center interviews acting Director of NOAA's Office for Coastal Management and Chad Berginnis, Executive Director of the Association of State Floodplain Managers on the Regional Coastal Resilience program.

A discussion on the Economic Impact of Parks nationally, and how Arlington County's Park Commission is using a recent economic impact study to help make the case for Parks and Recreation in the area. Featured speakers include; Kevin A. Roth, Vice President of Research at the National Recreation and Park Association, Elizabeth Gearin, AICP, with the Arlington County Planning Commission, William Ross, vice chair of the Arlington County Park and Recreation Commission, and Jennifer Fioretti, deputy director at the Arlington County Department of Parks and Recreation.

Steve Steinhoff discusses Plan4Health and its role with the Capital Region Healthy Communities initiative in Dane County, Wisconsin.

The discussion with Hugh Morris, AICP, LEED, manager of the Smart Growth Program for the National Association of Realtors focused on the results of the recent poll of residents in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. The poll focused on biking, walking, and transit use as well as the degree to which respondents would be willing to live in a smaller home if it meant they could walk to more places. The large sample size, 3,000, provides an opportunity to examine the data though several demographic lenses.

Recorded October 28, 2015 at the National Building Museum, Washington D.C. In urban areas, stormwater presents major challenges for water quality. Runoff and combined sewer overflows result in impaired quality and degraded watersheds. Increasingly, green infrastructure approaches can treat and reduce discharge volumes and help mitigate flood risk, in addition to a range of environmental, social, and economic benefits. Learn from the experiences of Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia in adopting green stormwater management approaches. Moderator David Rouse, AICP, American Planning Association Speakers Paula Conolly, AICP Policy Strategist, Green City, Clean Waters Program, Philadelphia Water Department Bethany Bezak, PE, LEED AP Green Infrastructure Manager, DC Water, DC Clean Rivers Project Mathy Stanislaus Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, U.S. EPA

APA New York Metro Chapter President, James Rausse, AICP, discusses the "Live Well Kingston" coalition in New York.

Get an overview of what we know about changing consumer demand and some of the drivers behind these changes in demand. Learn how the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service's Local Food Research and Development Division is trying to help farmers and food marketers take advantage of the recent surge in local food demand through grant assistance, primary data collection, applied research on emerging business models, technical assistance, and market facility design. Debra Tropp of the USDA outlines a recent effort to capture and quantify economic impacts of local food system investments. She discusses the rollout of a toolkit that can be used by planners and other development practitioners in responding to oft-repeated questions about the expected job creation and economic activity resulting from public investments in local food systems infrastructure.

Small and rural planning and zoning commissions often have limited capacity. In response, the Eastern Highlands (Connecticut) Health District Community Health Action Response Team coalition will develop a toolkit aimed at assisting planning and zoning commissions with understanding how planning can impact long-term public health. In this podcast APA interviews coalition member Emily Hultquist about the project.

In July, D.C.'s first seasonal parklet popped up along K Street's busy commercial district. Transforming two parking spots into a playful, interactive micro-park, it invites pedestrians and office workers into a small oasis with fern and liatris. Called "parKIT," this new public space was designed by Gensler in collaboration with the Golden Triangle BID, as a toolkit for D.C.'s parklets. Wedge-shaped, multi-use modules of various heights can be scattered and rearranged by the public, and the scene at the parklet has been ever-changing since its opening. In this presentation, the parKIT team discussed the lessons learned from the design process, various reactions, and discoveries through the daily operation of the parklet. Also, they shared their observations on how temporary urban spaces can generate a new type of participation and placemaking in D.C.

The Santa Fe Railyard in Santa Fe, New Mexico was designated as a 2015 "Great Place in America" for the public space category by the American Planning Association. In this podcast Brian Drypolcher and Greg Hiner from the Trust for Public Land discuss how the Santa Fe Railyard became a vibrant public space.

Jim Schwab, AICP interviews James Buika from the Department of Planning for the County of Maui and Tara Owens from the University of Hawaii Sea Grant program about disaster recovery planning in Hawaii.

An interview with Daren Fluke, AICP about the Idaho Plan4Health coalition.

An interview with APA member and Bensenville, Illinois planner Victoria Benham about the "B-Well Bensenville" campaign which is part of APA's Plan4Health initiative.

Roundtable discussion on water shortage and drought originally aired July 13, 2015 on KVMR Radio in Nevada City, California. Discussion participants include Frank Meecham, San Luis Obispo Board Supervisor from District 1; Tom Tedd, Director of the Office of the Columbia River - Department of Ecology for the State of Washington; Vic Ferrara, Nevada County Office of Emergency Services; Jim Schwab, AICP, APA's Manager of the Hazards Planning Center.