EarthFest 2016 Recap – Youth Engagement and Planning

 

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Over 200 curious young visitors stopped by the APAPA-SE activity booth at Temple University’s EarthFest 2016 on April 22nd.  An annual event at the Ambler Campus, EarthFest promotes environmental awareness to elementary and middle school students from across the region.  Continuing a multi-year tradition, APAPA-SE hosted a booth to support the effort.  This year, our four volunteers engaged students in two planning activities – one related to transportation and the other land use – to give them a very basic idea of what planners do on a regular basis.

The transportation-related activity had students placing stickers to indicate whether they walk, bike, drive, or take the bus to get to school, visit friends/family, visit park/playgrounds, and go shopping. While not exactly scientific, this informal survey had over 230 responses and provided some interesting results (see the tally we put together and feel free to draw your own conclusions). Overall, the kids were really excited about the activity – especially the stickers – and it got them thinking about the pros and cons of how they travel, both for their own personal health and the health of the environment.
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Join QUE on May 5!

QUE_Logo_Logo ColorQueer Urbanist Exchange (QUE) is invites you to join our monthly meet up at Le Méridien Philadelphia (1421 Arch St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19102) on Thursday, May 5 at 5:00 pm. We’ll be meeting up in conjunction with the Urban Consulate.

We’re going to do brief updates on all of our projects. If you’re interested in seeing more, check out our Meeting Notes from our last meeting.

Can’t make it?  You can sign to the group and find out more on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/QUEPHL and on Google Groups at http://bit.ly/QUEgoogle. You can also see Meeting Notes in our Files.

April 29 Engagement Committee

PA_logo_363 Southeast largeHave ideas for how APA Pennsylvania Southeast section can reach its members? Have suggestions for how better to get value from your membership? Share them during the Engagement Committee call. The Engagement committee’s next call is Friday, April 29, 2016 at 3pm. Any interested section members are welcome to join by calling 1-866-245-0351 passcode 605275.

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April 29: Planning & Public Health Training

 

The statewide training series Aligning Planning, Policy and Practice to Foster Public Health is coming to DVRPC on April 29th.   The training, which carries 3 CM, will address how the built environment and planning processes can work to improve public health, and is a joint effort of APA-PA and the PA Local Government Partnership.  Register here for this informative session on a critical emerging trend in planning: http://planningpa.org/news/statewide-training-public-health/

Classic Towns Trolley Tour May 20

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On Friday, May 20, 2016, American Planning Association, Pennsylvania Chapter, Southeast Section is co-sponsoring an event with DVRPC and other regional partners to explore the Classic Towns in our own backyard! The all-day Classic Towns trolley tour seeks to highlight the positive efforts and successes of the towns of Lansdowne and Media while providing an opportunity for community leaders from throughout the region to convene and share their stories and ideas. Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia is a DVRPC initiative designed to foster the growth of the region’s older communities by promoting what makes each community a wonderful place to live, work, and play.

You can register for this useful and enjoyable event, and to explore the resources and benefits of the Classic Towns program. Even if you’re not designated as a Classic Town, the Trolley Tour and other events provided by the program offer excellent educational opportunities. This program is useful for municipal managers, staff, business associations, elected officials, or anyone interested in seeing how to make their downtown more vibrant!

Cost is $25 per person and includes breakfast and lunch. RSVP by May 18. Click here to view the invitation for more details: http://www.dvrpc.org/email/2016-03_ClassicTowns.htm.

Click here to register: http://dvrpc.ticketleap.com/classic-towns-trolley-tour-of-delaware-county.

RFP: Incorporating Health and Comprehensive Planning Interactive Workshop

DVRPC is seeking proposals from qualified consultants to organize and execute a one-day, interactive workshop that will provide attendees with a better understanding of how to integrate health into their communities’ planning processes.

The bid will form the basis of a contract between DVRPC and the awarded vendor to complete all work for Incorporating Health and Comprehensive Planning Interactive Workshop.

Requests For Proposals may be obtained below or from DVRPC on or after 4/13/2016. Proposals must be submitted by 5:00 PM on 5/11/2016.

Proposals submitted after this time and date, and proposals that are non-responsive to the requirements of this RFP will not be considered.

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April 29: Placemaking: Revitalizing Commercial Corridors in Philadelphia

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Join the Planning and Community Development Department at Temple University and its partners for a full day of learning and engagement on placemaking strategies used to revitalize commercial corridors in Philadelphia’s neighborhoods.  The morning public lecture is free and open to the public.  The afternoon design workshop is limited to 25 Temple University students.

Morning Public Lecture 9:00-Noon

Learn successful placemaking strategies that have turned commercial corridors into lively public places. Philadelphia community leaders will share their stories on how they have incorporated arts, market spaces, cultural resources, and green spaces to activate and revitalize commercial corridors. Coffee and donuts will be served.

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May 4: Map It Out!

 

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Philly Tech Week 2016, presented by Comcast is from April 29th to May 7th and this year the Southeast Section has planned a tech event for planners! This event offers an introduction to CartoDB, Quantum GIS, and Geoda, three open source mapping platforms. Three CM credits are anticipated. Feel free to bring your laptop and follow along with the demonstrations.

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Spring Into CM Credits!

Looking to get a jump start on CM credits for your reporting period? There are a plethora of events and webinars offering American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Maintenance (CM) credits this spring in Southeastern Pennsylvania. From parks and solar energy to economic development and historic preservation, there are trainings on a wide variety of topics—including those always important law and ethics credits!

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Free Historical Document Care Seminar

Paper Conservation SeminarThe Heritage Commission of Delaware County presents a FREE workshop: “Caring for Paper Collections: Basic Care, Handling and Assessing Storage Needs” on Saturday, April 9.

This workshop will give an introduction to best practices in caring for paper-based artifacts. This could be useful for archiving historic maps or planning documents. Topics covered include: preparing work areas, following guidelines for handling objects, assessing storage materials and special needs, prioritizing for treatment, and understanding preservation and conservation terminology. This program is appropriate for volunteers and staff with responsibility for cultural collections, such as librarians, archivists, curators, collections managers, and stewards of historic house museums.

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