Archive for Education

Future City Philadelphia Volunteer Opportunities

There are a few opportunities to get involved with your local schools and inspire future planners and engineers!

Future City Philadelphia Engineering Fair

APA PA SE will have a booth at the Future City Philadelphia Engineering Fair in Newtown Square on Saturday, October 26. Please register here to volunteer.

Mentor Opportunities

Also, Future City Philadelphia is looking for mentors for the following middle schools in the Greater Philadelphia area:

  • Eisenhower Science and Technology Leadership Academy – Norristown, PA
  • French Creek Elementary – Pottstown, PA
  • Holy Rosary Regional School – Plymouth Meeting, PA
  • Keith Valley Middle School – Horsham, PA
  • KIPP West Philadelphia Prep – Philadelphia, PA
  • Lehighton Area Middle School – Lehighton, PA
  • Lenape Middle School – Doylestown, PA
  • Penn Wood Middle School – Darby, PA
  • St. Albert the Great School – Huntingdon Valley
  • St. Jane Frances de Chantal School – Easton, PA
  • St. Katherine of Siena School – Philadelphia, PA
  • St. Peter School – Philadelphia, PA
  • Stewart Middle School – Norristown, PA

Click here to sign up to mentor one of these teams.

For more information about the program and your role as a prospective mentor, please contact: Mike McAtee at mjmcatee@urbanengineers.com.

CM Credits for Pro Bono Planning Service

AICP members can obtain up to eight CM Credits for Pro Bono Planning Service, as outlined on the APA National website at https://www.planning.org/cm/logging/selfreport/probono

APA Future City Mentorship could relate to these allowed activities:

  • Planning-related support to groups that lack adequate planning resources, including service that expands choices and opportunities for everyone.
  • Planning to meet the needs of the disadvantaged and to promote racial and economic integration.
  • Mentoring the development of students, interns, beginning professionals, colleagues, and members of underrepresented groups to help them advance in the planning profession.

PennPraxis – Introducing the Neighborhood Preservation Toolkit

In 2018, PennPraxis led the Historic Preservation Citizen Engagement Project, bringing the conversation started by the Mayor’s Task Force on Historic Preservation to neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. The project was Neighborhood Preservation Toolkitfunded by the William Penn Foundation, and was led by PennPraxis’ Julie Donofrio and Molly Lester, in partnership with a network of 21 community liaisons, who worked as partners to lead conversations across the city. The resulting Neighborhood Preservation Toolkit is a new, free resource to build a larger, broader constituency for preservation in Philadelphia. The toolkit’s guidebook and poster are available for free download through PennPraxis and on PHLPreservation.org.

The Neighborhood Preservation Toolkit is the receipient of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia’s 2019 Public Service Award, and Preservation Pennsylvania’s 2019 Initiative Award for Education.

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May 15 – TCI Workshop: Advancing Equity & Creating Opportunities for All Communities

This is a free event but requires registration. Click here for more information.

The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) will host a workshop and roundtable discussion focused on advancing equity and addressing the transportation priorities of underserved and disproportionately affected communities as part of a regional low-carbon cap and invest program design.

This workshop is free and open to the public. The event is co-hosted with the New Jersey Innovation Institute.

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May 9, 16, 23: Zoning Course Presented by Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Education Institute

The Delaware County Planning Department is sponsoring a Course in Zoning presented by the Pennsylvania Municipal Planning Education Institute this May 9, 16, and 23, at the Delaware County Community College.

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Future City Philadelphia: Planning Excellence Award Winner

Blair Christian Academy (Philadelphia, PA) won the American Planning Association, PA Chapter, Southeast Section Special Award for Planning Excellence at the Future City Philadelphia Competition on Saturday, January 19. The theme for this year’s competition was “Powering Our Future.” Greater Philadelphia middle schools students were asked to design a future city with an electrical grid that could withstand and recover from natural disaster.

The Blair Christian Academy team featured above with their teacher, Willette Whitaker, and mentor, Derrick Whitaker, PE (Burns Engineering).

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Feb. 23 – AICP Exam Prep Session

Taking the AICP exam this May or thinking of applying?

The Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association is once again holding an all-day AICP exam prep session on Saturday, February 23 from 9:00 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. This will be held at the Giant Community Center (2300 Linglestown Road, Harrisburg PA 17110).

The session will review the content outline of the AICP exam, which APA recently updated, and provide details on the different content areas. The exam has been updated to reflect the new content outline, and the session will take time to clarify understanding of the revised exam. Questions are encouraged throughout the day. PA chapter members can attend for free and non-members pay $35.

Registration is required.

Register at APA – Pennsylvania Chapter’s page here.

Nov. 30 – Webinar: In Retrospect – Hurricane Harvey and the Impact on African-American Neighborhoods

In Retrospect – Hurricane Harvey and the Impact on African-American Neighborhoods

This webcast is hosted by APA’s Planning and the Black Community Division

Time: 2 PM – 3:30 PM – 11/30/2018
Speakers: Derek Hull, Rick Flanagan, John Cooper, Ph.D., Joy Semien

Register at https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/389822346745988097
For more webinars visit www.ohioplanning.org/planningwebcast

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Take a Short Survey to Help APA Prepare for the Planning Accreditation Board Visit of the U. Penn Planning Program !

The graduate planning program at the University of Pennsylvania is preparing to be reviewed for accreditation by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB).

Programs accredited by the PAB are expected to maintain a relationship with the profession, the local planning community and the local APA Chapter. As part of the accreditation process for planning programs, PAB is interested in learning about the interaction between the U. Penn Planning Program and APA members and the local planning community.

Please take this short survey by September 24, 2018 to assist with providing feedback in advance of the PAB review: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/52BJ9SV

July 19 – Aspiring Mentors: Sign up for the Future City Info Webinar

Future City regional winner Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School

Photo: 2018 Future City Regional Winner: Queen of Angels Regional Catholic School, Source: futurecityphilly.org

Please tune into our webinar on July 19 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. if you are interested in becoming a Future City mentor for the 2018-2019 school year at one of your local schools. Mike McAtee, the Future City Philadelphia Mentor Coordinator, will give a presentation and take participants’ questions at the end.

The Future City program offers a variety of volunteer opportunities to get involved with students in your local community. This webinar will help you understand if you are ready to be a mentor, judge, or a general volunteer for the 2019 Future City Philadelphia Regional Competition.

The Philadelphia Regional Future City Competition is a 501 (c)3 educational outreach program of DiscoverE. It is one of 41 regional programs conducted throughout the country. Future City is an inspiring program that helps introduce 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students to the engineering, architecture, and planning professions. Participating STEM teams across the country compete once a year in a regional competition in January. Finalists then proceed to present their projects at the National Competition during National Engineers Week in February in Washington, D.C.

The competition requires participating teams from schools and youth-focused organizations (e.g., Boy or Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, YMCA STEM clubs) to create their own future city, based on project criteria and guidelines for that year. Students are encouraged to prepare a variety of deliverables, including a project plan, tabletop-scale model, and virtual city, under the supervision and assistance of a teacher and mentor. Mentors should be professionals in the fields of engineering, planning, and architecture interested in investing time and energy in helping students realize their projects. For more information visit: http://futurecityphilly.org/.

Sign up at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/future-city-mentor-info-webinar-tickets-47650342457. Registrants through Eventbrite will be emailed webinar log in information to their registration email. We look forward to your participation!

CM Credits for Pro Bono Planning Service

AICP members can obtain up to eight CM Credits for Pro Bono Planning Service, including volunteering time with the APA PA SE Council or a committee as outlined on the APA National website at https://www.planning.org/cm/logging/selfreport/probono.

July 17 – AIA Philadelphia – Resources to Promote Active Design for Healthy Communities

Date:  July 17, 2018
Time:  8 – 10 AM
Location:
Center / Architecture + Design
1218 Arch St
Philadelphia, PA 19107-2816
Registration:  Registration is required – register HERE
Event Cost:  FREE

Event Overview
Join the AIA’s Active Design/Healthy Communities Committee for part two of our three-part series on Health and Design.** January’s State of the City event (Part One) gave an overview of health trends and disparities citywide and an insider peak into the design process for the new South Philadelphia Community Health Literacy Center. Part Two dives deeper into inventorying Philadelphia’s tapped and untapped resources for equitable active design, and how to address neighborhood-specific priorities for health.
Part Three (TBD -Fall 2018) will continue to explore Philadelphia’s priorities for equitable active design with an emphasis on action.
The Active Design/Healthy Communities Committee Mission:
The design of buildings, sites and communities have a profound effect on the health and well-being of the occupants and users of such spaces. The mission of the Active Design/Healthy Communities Committee is to provide AIA Philadelphia members, associated professionals, policy-makers and the general public a forum for education and advocacy on design strategies that improve health equity. The Committee will fulfill its mission through collaboratively developing Philadelphia-specific content, tools and opportunities for action with programs, conferences, exhibits and other materials, and by connecting participants with other organizations and experts in the field.
**Note: you do not need to have attended part one to join us for part two!