APA’s third annual Trend Report for Urban Planners is out and offers a comprehensive look at potential drivers of change that could impact communities and the work of planners for decades to come.
The American Planning Association (APA), in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, recently released its annual Trend Report for Planners. The report provides insights into 100 existing, emerging, and potential future trends to help planners in their current and long-range planning work.
Trends are organized into three time frames — Act Now, Prepare, and Learn and Watch — and then grouped into themed clusters. Of the trends needing immediate action, planners likely will not be surprised to find climate change, housing, transportation, and artificial intelligence. Less expected, however, may be the value of youth involvement in planning processes and the impacts of growing political polarization and societal division on planners’ work.
Looking to the future, the themes in the Prepare and Learn and Watch touch upon the changing economic landscape, including changes in work and retail; how new technologies and innovations will affect the world, and potentially universe, around us; and longer term implications of and potential solutions for climate change.
The report concludes that, “knowing about these external drivers of change, understanding how they may impact our communities and the work we do, and preparing for and proactively including them in our plans for the future of our communities is more important than ever before.”
FULL STORY: 2024 Trend Report for Planners
Do Environmentalists Confuse Oil Production With Oil Demand?
Samantha Gross, the director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative at the Brookings Institution, argues that the key to reducing emissions is to do the hard work of reducing oil demand rather than focusing on ending U.S. oil drilling.
The Decade in Urban Planning
A look back at the biggest stories and themes from the world of urban planning in the decade that was the 2010s.
Top Planning Trends – 2014
A deeper look at the traffic data on Planetizen reveals trends from the planning and urban design conversation of 2014.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service