April 6: APA PA Webinar Wednesday – Multi-Local Government Aggregation Programs: A Tool for Implementation

April 6 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Multi-Local Government Aggregation Programs: A Tool for Implementation

Multi-municipal aggregation programs can be incredibly valuable to assist local governments with implementation of technical and/or high upfront cost projects. Aggregation programs provide lower cost and turnkey services to local governments by leveraging the purchasing and decision making power of participants. Further, these programs remove several key technical, procurement, and decision-making challenges that local governments face by providing a centralized procurement/contracting process and the resources to effectively engage utilities, address legal considerations, access funding or financing, on-board trusted consultants, and navigating technical decision-making in a timely manner. This session will provide an example of DVRPC’s Regional Streetlight Procurement Program (RSLPP), a multi-municipal aggregation program that enabled more than 60 municipalities to convert their street lighting systems to LED. Through the program, DVRPC estimates that individual project costs were 20-30% less than traditional municipally led procurement methods, and projects were implemented with a high success rate (86% of municipalities who entered the program completed their projects and all but one of those who did not  proceed completed an LED conversion on their own as a result of their participation). This guide provides step-by-step information that will assist regional and multi-government groups with developing and implementing a multi-local government / aggregation procurement and implementation program, and the lessons learned can be applied to other applications of aggregated procurement and implementation for local governments as well.

CM credit is pending approval.

Speaker: Liz Compitello and Mike Fuller

Deadline to register is April 5, 2022

If you’re interested in sponsoring a Webinar Wednesday session or have a session for Webinar Wednesday please contact us. Send your request to info@planningpa.org.

PLEASE NOTE: You will receive an email the week of the webinar with zoom information (please check your spam/junk folders). This email will be sent to the email address you used to register for the event.

REGISTER NOW

DVRPC – Fellowship Application

DVRPC is accepting applications for their Fellowship program! The deadline to apply is April 15, 2022.

Click here for more information

What is DVRPC’s Fellowship Program?

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) Fellowship Program provides an opportunity to learn about urban and regional planning by serving in various departments at the Commission over the course of a year. DVRPC is committed to supporting a pipeline of talented individuals from historically and currently underrepresented communities into urban and regional planning and related fields, such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS), project management, policy analysis, or capital programming. The selected fellow will participate in the daily activities of a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), complete specialized projects, and experience firsthand how regional and local plans and investments are made in the Greater Philadelphia region. The fellow’s specific department and project assignments will be determined based on a combination of the selected candidate’s specific skills and interests, and DVRPC project needs.

DVRPC is a place to work, learn, and create a career in a professional and stimulating environment that values diversity, innovation, and bringing your best self to work. The DVRPC Fellowship is a paid, year-long, full-time, professional development program that begins July 2022 through June 2023.  The Fellowship will aid in preparation for graduate school or a successful career in planning or a related discipline. There will be one fellow at a time. If there is mutual interest and applicable work assignments, the chosen Fellow may be extended for an additional year. No fellowship will continue for more than two years.

WalkWorks Grant Round Now Open

WalkWorks Grant Round Now Open!

WalkWorks is pleased to announce its sixth round of assistance to advance policy development related to active transportation. Once, again, grants will be offered to a limited number of municipalities and other governmental bodies to assist with the development of Active Transportation Plans, Complete Streets Policies, and/or Vision Zero Policies. These plans and policies are essential to our efforts to establish activity-friendly routes that connect people to everyday destinations, thereby expanding opportunities for physical activity.

In the context of this Funding Opportunity, active transportation include walking, wheeling, and public transit. Eligible applicants include municipalities, Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations (MPOs/RPOs), and other governmental entities, like Counties, with the capacity to complete the proposed project and adopt the resulting plans and policies.

See the WalkWorks website for more information, including important dates for funding. 

March 23: ULI Philadelphia UrbanPlan Volunteer Happy Hour

ULI will be hosting a happy hour event on March 23rd, at 5 PM. The event will be at Craft Hall. This is an opportunity for planners to come and learn more about UrbanPlan.

Register Here

Date:March 23, 2022

Event start time:5:00 PM
(GMT-05:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Venue: Craft Hall

901 N Delaware Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19123

UrbanPlan Seeking Volunteers

What is UrbanPlan?

UrbanPlan is an engaging classroom-based curriculum in which participants – high school students, university students, public officials or community members – learn about the fundamental forces that affect real estate development in our communities.

Next Volunteer Training: May 19, 2022

Application Deadline: April 1, 2022

Learn More & Apply Today

ULI will also be hosting a happy hour event where interested individuals can find out more about UrbanPlan and connect with local land use professionals.

Volunteer Opportunity

UrbanPlan volunteers are selected from experienced land use and real estate development professionals and will be required to attend a one-day training. The training is currently being planned as an in person program, but if necessary may be delivered entirely virtually. Because of the nature of the training, a hybrid option will not be available.

Time Commitment

If selected, volunteers are committing to attend an all day volunteer training on May 19, 2022, roughly 8:30am – 4:30 pm in Philadelphia. Once volunteer training is complete, volunteers are eligible to volunteer for future engagements. A minimum of 1 hour and maximum of 15 hours will also be required for various UrbanPlan programs throughout the year. Deadline to apply April 1, 2022. 

Feb. 15 & 16: CAAP Statewide Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Summit

Central Section of PA Chapter of APA is excited to announce its partnership with the Community Action Association of Pennsylvania (CAAP) to present a virtual  CAAP 2022 STATEWIDE Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) SUMMIT. The two-part event will occur on Tuesday, February 15th and Wednesday, February 16th from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. What is even better, 5.5 Equity CMs are pending approval for the two sessions of the DEI Summit, including the Keynote with Jerome Underwood, CEO of Action for a Better Community from Rochester, New York.

Click here for more information and to register

For CAAP’s keynote address, Jerome Underwood will focus on the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion practices to increase equity for all citizens. Underwood is a member of the Equity and Economic Mobility Commission with the National Community Action Partnership. Mr. Underwood is also a member of the Black Agenda Group, an organization dedicated to the creation of culturally specific and culturally responsive interventions to address the effects of racism within the Black community.

Action For A Better Community (ABC) in Rochester, N.Y. ABC serves families in Monroe and Ontario Counties by offering programs and services in the areas of employment, early childhood education, youth services, adult education, health services, community development, and energy conservation. Racial equity and justice advocacy are core to ABC’s work. The agency’s mission is to provide opportunities for low-income individuals and families to become self-sufficient.

Feb. 17: Mid-Atlantic Collaboration: Plan Integration for Resilience and Equity

February 17 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
Plan Integration for Resilience and Equity

Click here for more information and to register

Planners have a number of plans for which they are responsible. Two factors, climate resilience and equity, are top-of-mind as we try and integrate planning strategies to provide multiple benefits. The webinar would explore examples of successful plan integration and their relation to building in more resilient approaches to local decision-making.

March 2: Webinar Wednesday – Advancing Racial Equity through Land Use Planning

March 2 @ 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm

Register Here

Advancing Racial Equity through Land Use Planning

According to US Census Data, disparity in income and housing among diverse racial and ethnic populations has occurred in the United States. Researchers have pointed out that many members of these specific populations have been adversely impacted by housing policies adopted in the first half of the 20th century.

To address present day challenges, this webinar will present examples of two cities addressing racial inequity through their land use planning tools & codes. The City of Minneapolis, Minnesota recently completed Minneapolis 2040 which reflects the result of more than two years of engagement with the people of Minneapolis. This engagement included over 100 meetings and conversations with thousands of residents, business owners, and others, where they shared their vision and hopes for the future of the city. Joe Bernard AICP, Planning Project Manager, City of Minneapolis will describe how the City of Minneapolis intends to be inclusive in providing housing for people of all socio-economic groups.

The City of Lancaster Planning Commission also passed a resolution in 2020 committing to racial equity. Douglas Smith AICP, Chief Planner, City of Lancaster will share their efforts to create a diverse, inclusive, and equitable process for their first comprehensive plan in nearly 30 years. During his presentation, Smith will address topics of public outreach, language access, citizen empowerment, and non-traditional engagement methods

Finally, Shelby Nauman, Co-Chair of the Lancaster County Coalition for Sustainable Housing will discuss the Coalition’s role in raising awareness of our City and County’s need for housing that is affordable across the spectrum of household incomes (both rental and for-sale housing).

Equity CM credit is pending approval.

Speaker: Joe Bernard, AICP; Douglass Smith, AICP LEED; and Shelby Naumann

**The Pennsylvania Chapter is not responsible for the materials or opinions of the speakers you will hear**

Deadline to register is March 1, 2022

If you’re interested in sponsoring a Webinar Wednesday session or have a session for Webinar Wednesday please contact us. Send your request to info@planningpa.org.

Featured Job Listing – DVRPC – Environmental/Active Transportation Planner

DVRPC is looking for an Environmental/Active Transportation Planner! Click through for the full job listing

Feb. 2: APA-PA Hosts Webinar Wednesday: Climate Change Planning

February 2 @ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Climate Change Planning for Vulnerable Neighborhoods

We will introduce the county-wide climate change vulnerability assessment as well as other hazard mitigation-related projects undertaken by the Planning Commission. In 2020-2021, the Planning Commission utilized free public information on (A) historical flooding and flood-prone areas, (B) historically heat sensitive areas, and (C) disadvantaged populations in order to identify neighborhoods, which will likely face increased challenges due to climate change. To ensure regional consistency, we completed this study with assistance from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission as they worked on a complementary regional heat island project.

  • Attendees will understand the methods used by the Planning Commission and DVRPC to create their Vulnerability Assessment and could replicate the study for their own jurisdictions.
  • Attendees will learn how climate change takes a toll on poor and vulnerable people and these impacts are largely caused by inequalities that increase the risk from climate hazards (i.e. heat, flooding). Vulnerable communities need to be identified and included at all stages planning.
  • Attendees will learn how climate change impacts are not equality distributed among municipalities.  The Assessment highlight how county and regional planning organizations have an opportunity and responsibility to encourage partnership between municipalities to adapt critical infrastructure and support vulnerable communities without adaptive capacity.
  • Attendees will gain insight to the opportunities for and challenges to implementing climate adaptation and climate mitigation measures for local and regional governments.

Sustainability/Resilience CM credit is pending approval.

Speaker: Jon Lesher and Ellis Foley

Deadline to register is February 1, 2022

If you’re interested in sponsoring a Webinar Wednesday session or have a session for Webinar Wednesday please contact us. Send your request to info@planningpa.org.

REGISTER NOW