Sept. 25: Census Data Workshop

Please join us for this free workshop at the Free Library of Philadelphia- Parkway Central Library on September 25, 2013 from 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM 8:30 PM.

You will learn how to:

  • How to use Census Data to develop the demographic portion of a business plan, choose a location for a business and measure business competition.
  • The differences between Decennial Census Data and the American Community Survey.
  • Explain the Economic Census.
  • Other types of business data such as County/Zip Code Business Patterns.
  • How to maneuver within the Census.gov and American Fact Finder websites to access Census data.

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Oct. 9: The End of the Suburbs?

The End of the SuburbsIs it “The End of the Suburbs”?

The Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance presents a book event with author Leigh Gallagher & Inquirer architecture critic Inga Saffron

Thursday, October 9, 2013

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Paradiso, 1627 Passyunk Avenue

Philadelphia, PA

The American Dream of homeownership was equated with an ideal of suburban living: single-family detached home, two cars in the driveway, multiple children attending strong public schools.

But as the nation emerges from the housing bust and Millennials defer marriage, homeownership, and children, the singular suburban American Dream may be giving way to a more heterogeneous vision. Join Fortune Magazine editor, Leigh Gallagher, and the Inquirer’s Award Winning Architecture Critic, Inga Saffron, for a conversation about Leigh’s new book, The End of the Suburbs. 

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Sept. 24: Come Join the APAPA-SE Events Committee

Interested in helping to plan planning events? Join us on the phone or in person at DVRPC for the Events Committee Meeting at 5:30 on September 24! We also welcome your suggestions even if you aren’t able to attend.

Register at https://apapaseeventsq3.eventbrite.com/

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Recap: LGBT-Friendly Senior Housing in Philadelphia: Creating the John C. Anderson Apartments

Credit: HUD

Thanks to all those who attended LGBT-Friendly Senior Housing in Philadelphia: Creating the John C. Anderson Apartments.  The session PowerPoint presentations are linked to in the program description below and are all available from this download folder.  Thanks again for coming and we thank you for your feedback. We will be releasing a recording of this session as well, which will be advertised from this blog.

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Ken Greenberg to Speak at Design on the Delaware Conference

Ken Greenberg

Ken Greenberg, architect, urban designer, teacher, writer, former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto and Principal of Greenberg Consultants, will speak at 11th Annual Design on the Delaware conference, October 29 – November 1 in Philadelphia.

Mr. Greenberg has played a pivotal role on public and private assignments in urban settings throughout North America and Europe, focusing on the rejuvenation of downtowns, waterfronts, neighborhoods and on campus master planning, regional growth management, and new community planning. Cities as diverse as Toronto, Hartford, Amsterdam, New York, Boston, Montréal, Washington DC, Paris, Detroit and San Juan Puerto Rico have benefited from his advocacy and passion for restoring the vitality, relevance and sustainability of the public realm in urban life. Greenberg will present “City Building with Nature in Mind” on Tuesday, October 29 during the morning General Session.

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Sept. 22: Laurel Hill Cemetery Tour

Laurel Hill Cemetery

Join APAPASE’s Emerging Professionals for a guided tour of Philadelphia’s historic Laurel Hill Cemetery on Sunday September 22nd at 2pm.

The tour will last approximately two hours and will cover a variety of topics, including the place of cemeteries in the developing city, the symbolism of monuments, the importance of cemeteries for sanitation purposes, the use of cemeteries as public parks and how Laurel Hill in particular was a first step towards the creation of what has become the Fairmount Park system. Laurel Hill is also the resting place for such prominent Philadelphians as Rittenhouse, Widener, Elkins and Strawbridge.

The cost of the tour will be $17, which goes towards historic preservation at the cemetery.

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Sept. 14: Exploring Philadelphia: Graduate Hospital Tour

Royal Theater courtesy visitphilly.com

Royal Theater courtesy visitphilly.com

Date: Saturday, September 14, 2013, 10:30 am – 12:30 pm

Cost: $6
Link for tickets: http://yip.ticketleap.com/gradhospital/
It’s called many names–Graduate Hospital, South of South, and Southwest Center City. Join YIP, the AIA/Young Architects Forum, and Andrew Dalzell, the Executive Director of the South of South Neighborhood Association (SOSNA), for a tour of the Grad Hospital neighborhood. We’ll start out by exploring the restaurants, bars, cafes, and shops on South Street West and then weave our way south and west through the neighborhood, past parks, churches, historic sites, and other hidden gems. Whether you’re new to Philly or a long time resident who just wants a chance to get out an explore the neighborhood, this insider’s tour is for you! The tour will start in front of the Royal Theater (south side of South Street between 15 and 16th) at 10:30 AM and will end at 12:30 PM at Resurrection Ale House–a perfect spot if you want to stay afterwards to grab brunch. Remember to wear comfortable shoes. First 25 people to sign up get a free Neighborhood Guide and Graduate Hospital notebook courtesy of GPTMC!

A recently released book that covers the history of Graduate Hospital, Evergreens, will be available for purchase at the event. For more information, visit: http://southofsouth.org/evergreens

Oct. 29: Ethics for Planning and Design Professionals

Need those ethics credits? The Southeast Council of the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Planning Association (APA SE PA) is partnering with the Design on the Delaware conference this year to present Ethics for Planning & Design Professionals. Speakers include J. Shane Creamer, the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Board of Ethics, and Joanne Phillips, an expert in zoning and land use from Ballard Spahr. Registration for one day at the conference costs less than $250 and includes up to 5 CM credits, including the required 1.5 for ethics. Tuesday, October 29, 2013, 10:25am – 11:55am.

Have a specific question about something? Always wondered about an ethical situation, exactly how it should be handled? APA SE PA wants to hear from you! We are collecting inquiries and scenarios for our APA Ethics speakers to address. As brief or in-depth as you’d like, please email to sharonmaclean1@gmail.com by October 1, 2013. All emails will be kept confidential.

Crowdsourcing for Public Input

opensourceway via flickr

opensourceway via flickr

Have you ever been frustrated by the limitations on electronic surveys? After spending hours creating neutral questions and creating the universe of potential solutions, you find that people keep selecting the “other” box with something you accidentally left off.

One possible solution is looking at crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing, not to be confused with crowdsurfing, is a means allows users to create and vote on each others’ answers to questions or problems. Instead of the surveyor populating the survey, the users are able to come up with, vote on, and discuss their own answers. Users can vote up or down answers that they feel are relevant or irrelevant. In the end, the planner as moderator can get an idea of the most popular ideas as well as potentially new ideas. The user oriented nature can also encourage users to share the survey with their friends providing input from wider groups than your initial contacts.

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Now Hiring: This Week’s Job Postings

job

Just because it’s the dog days of summer doesn’t mean there aren’t still new jobs to be had.

1) Outreach and Volunteerism Manager – Natural Lands Trust – Media, PA
2) FAO Schwarz Family Foundation Fellowship – Please Touch Museum – Philadelphia
3) Part-Time Data Analyst – CamConnect – Camden, NJ 4) Marketing Assistant – Econsult – Philadelphia
5) Business Development Manager – Veolia Energy – Philadelphia
6) Housing Expert – Bekiempis and Associates LLC – Bangor, PA
7) Intern, Citizens Planning Institute – Philadelphia City Planning Commission – Philadelphia 8) Student Positions – Philadelphia Global Water Initiative – Philadelphia
9) Intern, Capacity Building, Community Impact – United Way of Greater Philadelphia – Philadelphia
10) Mapping Project and Development Intern – Asian Arts Initiative – Philadelphia
11) Community Organizer and Strategic Initiatives Manager – John Bartram Association – Philadelphia
12) Watershed Education Manager – Camden Children’s Garden – Camden, NJ

Full descriptions after the jump!

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