July 7: Well City Expo

Join the Well City Expo!

Register here

On the evening of July 7th, 2021, we will have a chance to celebrate the incredible work of the five Well City Challenge Pitch Competition winners: Hey, Auntie, Let’s Talk Philly, Freedom Greens & Gardens, Shear Balance, and Strides. 

After hearing from the teams, the audience will have a chance to directly interact with the teams, and ask questions related to idea & incubator experience. At the end of the evening, we will announce the  winner with a grand prize of $50,000.

Make sure to follow the Well City Challenge on Instagram @economyleague, Twitter @EconomyLeague, and Facebook @economyleaguephl for event updates and to learn more about our finalists!

APA PA – Submit your Nominations for Annual Awards

2021 Annual Awards

The PA Chapter of APA is pleased to invite nominations for the 2021 PA Chapter of APA Planning Awards, to be presented at the Annual Conference, October 17-19, 2021 in Pittsburgh. It is the opportunity to showcase distinguished individuals and successful projects – the best and brightest in Pennsylvania planning! Go to our website for more information.

Nominations are encouraged to submit:

  • Compelling Plans
  • Innovative Projects, Programs, and Practices
  • Inspiring Leaders

It is not hard to submit a nomination.

  1. Enter information on the online form.
  2. Attach a narrative.
  3. Attach any support docs and images that help tell the story.

Take Our Member Survey!

Take Our Member Survey! (And Maybe Win A Prize!)
The APAPA-SE Section Council wants to hear from you! As the region emerges from COVID-19, we want to know more about our members’ interests and desires. Have an interesting idea for a section event? Want to get involved further? Just want to share your thoughts on the future of planning in the Delaware Valley? Take the survey and let us know what you are thinking about right now.
The survey link is at https://bit.ly/3oYffL3 . One lucky survey taker (selected by random drawing) will win a gift card from APAPA-SE!
We look forward to your responses. The survey will be open for the month of June.

Deadline July 15: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) – Local Government Online Survey

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania – Department of Environmental Protection is in the process of adopting and implementing its Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) program, focused on reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and public health, and advancing climate resiliency throughout the state. To help inform the program’s prospective policies, investment plan, and ongoing engagement strategies, Pennsylvania DEP’s consultant, Delta Institute, has developed a Local Government Online Survey for staff serving in municipal, county, and township government, to gather input on RGGI’s anticipated benefits and impacts, and to hear regional priorities around how the program’s revenues should be invested.

The survey will be open until July 15, 2021. Should you have any questions, please contact Jack Eskin at jeskin@delta-institute.org or call (312) 651-4350.

June 3/10/17 – OLIN Labs Hosts PrideScapes Discussion Series

PrideScapes Summer Speaker Series

Celebrate Pride with OLIN Labs!

To kick off the initiative, OLIN Labs is hosting a virtual three-part panel series that coincides with Pride month and invites critical conversations between landscape architects, designers, urban planners, artists, and historic preservationists working on LGBTQ+ discourse and projects related to the increased representation and visibility of LGBTQ+ spaces in the built environment.

Join us June 3rd, 10th, & 17th!

Discussion topics include Landscapes & Pandemics: The Inequities of AIDS & COVID-19, Preserving & Interpreting LGBTQ+ Landscapes: Making an Invisible History Visible, and LGBTQ+ Memorials: Design and Remembrance in the Landscape.

The PrideScapes Summer Speaker Series is free and open to the public! You will receive an email confirmation upon registration, and a password-protected Zoom Meeting link will be emailed to you the day of the presentation.

Sign up to attend one, two, or all three presentations!

Click here to register!

APAPASE Section Council Nominations – Petition Process

This summer we will hold elections for American Planning Association, Pennsylvania Chapter, Southeast Section (APA PA SE) Officers and Council members. Although the deadline has passed for nominations by the Nominating Committee, you may still nominate yourself to be placed on the ballot through the petition process. Any member of the Section who is eligible to hold office and is not proposed by the Nominating Committee for membership on the Section Council may be placed on the ballot by the Nominating Committee upon receipt of a petition making such a proposal submitted by June 10 and signed by not less than twenty (20) Section members who are eligible to vote. Please submit petitions to elections@apapase.org.

  • The four Section Council Officer positions consist of President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Chair provides leadership and guides the development of the chapter, the Vice Chair assists, the Treasurer maintains the budget and all financial matters, while the Secretary administers the documentation and membership of the organization.
  • A Professional Planner is an individual earning a majority of their income practicing planning or who is retired from such occupation. Professional planners are required to be a member of the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA.
  • A Citizen Planner is any appointed or elected official who is involved in planning decisions for the betterment of a state, region, county, city or municipality; who is
    individual who has an interest in furthering the purposes of Association, but who is not a Professional Planner (for example, planning commissioner, planning official, zoning board member, Philadelphia RCO zoning representative, or similar). Elected citizen planners will receive complementary membership to the Pennsylvania Chapter of APA.

If you are interested in serving either in an Officer or Council member position:

  • New members welcome! No previous experience required.
  • AICP not required to join the board.
  • Review the Chapter Bylaws for descriptions of the Officer and Council member duties and responsibilities.
  • Determine if your schedule will allow sufficient time for the position, generally 1-3 hours/month.
  • Speak with current Officers or Council members regarding any questions or concerns.
  • Submit a petition signed by not less than twenty (20) Section members who are eligible to vote by June 10th to the Nominating Committee no later than June 10th at: elections@apapase.org. Include a brief biography (3-4 sentences). You may also submit a mission statement and picture.

The official elections ballot will be distributed online during the summer by APA national to coincide with their election and voting will end in early September. The results of the election shall be published for Section members in October, with official terms to start in January 2022.

Please visit the APAPA-Southeast Section website for more information about the section.

Penn State Solar Law Symposium

Utility-Scale Solar Development  

For Lawyers, Landowners, & Others 

An Online Legal Educational Symposium

Presented by

Center for Agricultural and Shale Law at Penn State Law
Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research
Penn State Dickinson Law
Penn State Extension

Tuesday, June 15, 2021, 12:00pm – 3:30pm (EDT)

Thursday, June 17, 2021, 12:00pm – 3:30pm (EDT)

This symposium is targeted at those with both beginning and intermediate levels of knowledge about photovoltaic electrical generation for the grid and is designed in a progressive manner with each session building upon the knowledge gained in the prior session.  Upon completion, an attorney, landowner, government professional, educator or other interested attendee will have a well-rounded understanding of the legal facets of the proliferation of utility-scale solar development project proposals in Pennsylvania, across the region, and throughout much of the United States.

$179 – Registration Fee (6 hours of substantive Pennsylvania CLE Credits)

$99 – Registration Fee (without CLE credits)

Register here: https://w2.pennstatelaw.psu.edu/forms/solar-symposium/

For more information, see the Event Page: https://aglaw.psu.edu/event/2021-penn-state-solar-law-symposium/

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May 19th: APAPA-SE Happy Hour Game Night

Register here

The APAPA-SE Events Committee will be hosting one more virtual event before the start of the summer season – and it’s going to be a game night! Join your fellow APAPA-SE planners for a night of Jackbox Games, like Quiplash and Patently Stupid. All you need is a Zoom connection and your phone to play – no admission cost or entry fees. Prizes will be awarded to some of the game winners!

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 19th, at 7:00 PM. Pre-registration for the Zoom event is available here

While we are all ready for in-person events this summer, don’t miss this chance to get together virtually with some friendly competition. Hope to see you there!

Featured Job Listing – DVRPC – Transportation Planner

Click here for the full job listing and information on how to apply.

Classification: RESEARCH ANALYST I/II (RA I/II)
Salary Range: Hi $40,000s to Low $50,000s (position level & salary commensurate with education & experience)
Location: Office of Mobility Analysis and Design
Closing Date: When position is filled

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) is the Philadelphia region’s Metropolitan Planning Organization. We believe 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. If your background and experience match the following vacancy, we would like to hear from you.

Read more

College Outreach & Engagement Panel Recap

On April 22nd, the American Planning Association, Pennsylvania Chapter, Southeast Section (APAPASE) and Temple University’s Student Planning Organization (TSPO) hosted a Zoom College Outreach and Engagement Panel Event. Graduate planning students from schools in the Philadelphia region – including Bryn Mawr College, Temple University, UPenn, and West Chester University – participated in the hour-long event, which was moderated by Andrew Halt (TSPO President).  Panelists consisted of three APAPAPASE members:

  • John Federico, PE, AICP, a project manager with over 20 years of professional experience in multimodal transportation planning and design, including bicycle, pedestrian, transit, parking, and integrated land use-transportation projects.
  • Lorianne DeFalco, AICP, a technical director and LEED Green Associate with over 15 years of experience in the environmental consulting, planning, and engineering industry.
  • Matthew Popek, AICP, a Transportation Planning Assistant Manager at Montgomery County Planning Commission, and a former TSPO President.

With a mix of environmental and transportation disciplines and public and private sector background experience, the panelists provided perspectives on the current entry-level hiring process and opportunities, as well as personal career movement. The panel answered questions related to experiences on work styles, recent project assignments, and on-the-ground community engagement. The event was a success and APAPASE is looking forward to future events with planning programs within the Philadelphia region.