Archive for Education

Future City Mentors Needed – One Month until Competition Day

Downingtown Middle School – Honorable Mention at the 2017 Future City Philadelphia Regional Competition (Source: futurecityphilly.org)

If you’ve been looking for a way to give back this holiday season, become a Future City mentor for a school in your community. 10 Future City Philadelphia teams still need mentors, and the students could really use your support in the final days leading up to the regional competition. Students must prepare a model of an “Age-Friendly City” to present in front of a panel of judges on Saturday, January 20, 2018.

As a planner, you can provide meaningful feedback and assistance as the students creatively tackle this topic.

The following 10 middle schools need mentors:

  • Eisenhower – Norristown
  • Keith Valley – Horsham
  • Mother Teresa – King of Prussia
  • Murray Avenue – Huntingdon Valley
  • St Albert the Great – Huntingdon Valley
  • St Elizabeth – Uwchlan
  • Helena – Blue Bell
  • Ignatius – Yardley
  • WCPA Homeschool Group – Pleasant Mount
  • Windsor Christian Academy – Uwchlan

Sign up to mentor one of these teams here.

Check out our latest post for a refresher on the Philadelphia Regional Future City Competition.

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.

 

Nov. 2: MS City and Regional Planning, Temple University Information Session

Make a commitment during #PlanningMonth to become a planner and register for the Information Session on November 2nd for the MS City and Regional Planning, Temple University.  The program has two concentration tracks in Sustainable Community Planning and Transportation Planning.  Both are areas of expertise that are in wide demand in the greater Philadelphia region as well as across the country and globe.  Accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board since 2012.

At the Meet and Greet with MS CTRP students and alumni, you’ll have a chance to learn about the various career paths alumni have taken from traditional government planning to community-based programming and policy development with nonprofit organizations, from government innovation to entrepreneurial startups, and more.

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Drexel Announces Urban Innovation Fellowships

The Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation at Drexel University invites you to apply for one of three [3] Urban Innovation Fellowships through this brief application form. Lindy is looking for Philadelphians who are working on urban challenges at any scale – from the block to the neighborhood to the city – who would benefit from the support and the expertise of the Lindy Institute, its faculty fellows, and staff.

Fellows receive the following benefits:

  • Being paired with experts who will help them think through strategies in real time during an Urban Innovation workshop from October 30 – November 1 (selected applicants should be available to participate in this event). The workshop will include site visits, work sessions and public presentations over the 3 days.
  • A $15,000 award to continue to work on their project at Drexel. Fellows will receive guidance from the Lindy Institute to help determine the best use of the stipend, but they will have latitude to decide whether it be used as income or funding for implementation.
  • Access to Drexel’s academic research facilities and maker spaces
  • A comprehensive plan to take your project into its next phase

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Get Involved in AICP Early!

Are you a planning student or recent graduate? APA has a new opportunity for you!

If you are in or have recently graduated from a program accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board (PAB), you can join the AICP Candidate Pilot Program, starting in November 2017.

The new AICP Candidate Pilot Program provides a path to start the process to earn the prestigious AICP Certification earlier. Join the program and sit for the AICP Certification Exam after you graduate, when you’re still in the test-taking mindset.

The criteria to become AICP remain the same, but the order of the steps changes.

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Call for Papers: 2017 John Pickett Memorial Scholarship Awards

APAPASE is looking for Graduate School program papers (individual and group) about topics and issues relevant to the Delaware Valley Region. Eligible papers can address contemporary planning-related topics, such as sustainability, Smart Growth, and energy planning, and include methods for achieving implementation. Papers must be generated through graduate level studios and/or class/course assignments.

Click here for more details. Deadline extended to October 13!

The Start of Future City 2017-2018 Is Around the Corner

It’s summer again: warm weather, poolside Sundays, seasonally-appropriate ice cream eating, and no school! School has now been out for a couple of weeks, and we’ve all forgotten what it’s like to get stuck in school traffic in the morning. However, the 2017-2018 schoolyear will be starting before you know it, and APAPASE wants to remind all of its members that there are many opportunities to volunteer for the upcoming 2018 Future City Competition for middle schoolers.

The Philadelphia Region Future City Steering Committee is hosting an Engineering Fair for future participants and collaborators in September. APAPASE encourages all interested schools, future mentors, volunteer judges, and event volunteers to attend.

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Survey: UrbanEyes 3D Mapping

We are a group of NYU students who are researching the feasibility of a brand new technology called UrbanEyes. UrbanEyes is a unique algorithm that processes cloud point data from LiDAR for 3D imaging. It is unlike anything out there and can improve accuracy of images to one inch. We invite you to participate in our survey to help us on our project.

To participate in our survey click here.

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March 30: MS City and Regional Planning, Temple University Information Session

Join us at the Architecture and Environmental Design, Tyler School of Art Graduate Information Session on March 30, 2017 to learn more about the MS City and Regional Planning program and application requirements.  The program has two concentration tracks in Sustainable Community Planning and Transportation Planning.  Both are areas of expertise that are in wide demand in the greater Philadelphia region as well as across the country and globe.  Accredited by the Planning Accreditation Board since 2012.

At the Meet and Greet with MS CTRP alumni, you’ll have a chance to learn about the various career paths alumni have taken from traditional government planning to community-based programming and policy development with nonprofit organizations, from government innovation to entrepreneurial startups, and more.

Read more

2017 Philadelphia Future City Competition Points to a Bright Future

Regional Winner: Lionville Middle School Source: futurecityphilly.org

If it’s true what they say, ‘children are our future,’ then we have some very smart cities to look forward to! On Saturday January 21, thirty-six middle schools from southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware competed in the 2017 Philadelphia Future City Competition held at Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor.

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Future City Philadelphia – Volunteers and Mentors Needed

 

The Future City Philadelphia program is part of a national program to encourage middle-school students to design a city. This can be as simple as improving an existing neighborhood, or starting from scratch at the bottom of the ocean or on another planet. The kids are asked to envision and plan for all the systems needed to make their city work, including transportation, utilities, power, and water. They write a paper, build a model, and then present at a culmination event in January. It is a great introduction to the ideas of city planning and may well introduce some new students to the planning field.  Several different ways to get involved are outlined in the request below from the program’s volunteer coordinator, Karen R. McManuels:

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