March 14: Improving Connectivity

Registration is now open for the Improving Connectivity and System Function Through Local Planning seminar on March 14th at the Arcadia University King of Prussia Campus. The seminar is hosted by GVF in partnership with Parsons Brinckerhoff and the PA Chapter of the American Planning Association.  Two CM credits are available for attending!  Costs is only $15.  Registration is from 8 to 8:30AM and program is from 8:30 to 10:30AM.

PennDOT’s new handbook on “Improving Connectivity and System Function through Local Planning” provides guidance to municipalities on how to enhance vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian connectivity. This training offers an overview of the handbook and includes strategies to effectively regulate and manage a connected transportation network within a community including a review of connectivity index calculations and model ordinance language.

See attached flyer for more information.  You can register here http://tinyurl.com/connectivity-seminar

Download: improving_connectivity_flyer(1)

Council Elections Are Just Around the Corner!

Last month we asked you to vote on a bylaw change clarifying our voting procedures. Voting is now closed and that bylaw change passed. With that behind us, it’s time to elect our 2013-2015 Section Council!

This spring the Southeast Section of APA-PA will hold its biennial election for the 2013-2015 term.  The Council is responsible for a variety of functions including carrying out training programs, mentoring planning students, holding social events including the annual fall event, and disseminating planning information to our members via the internet throughout the year. Council members participate on various committees, including Program, Education & Scholarship, Student Mentoring, and the Professional Development Institute that sponsors AICP-credit quality events.

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15 Free CMs AND Getting Social Media and App Savvy

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TechniCity is an extensive, free Massive Online Open Course being taught this spring by Jennifer Evans-Cowley (The Ohio State University) and Tom Sanchez (Virginia Tech).  This course begins by examining how our cities are changing, and then jumps into how technology is used to engage with the public to support decision-making. Participants will examine tools for analyzing the city, and explore the infrastructure that makes the real time city possible.  The four week course has been approved for 15 hours of CM credit and starts on May 4th.  More information is available here, and for a better idea of the course and Dr. Evans-Cowley’s work with social media and apps, follow Dr. Evans-Cowley on Twitter @EvansCowley or her blog.

APA Calling for Photos

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The APA Photo Auction – sponsored by the Chapter President’s Council – supports The Planning Foundation of APA which funds philanthropic activities that the American Planning Association has supported for years – scholarships and community equity programs – and new initiatives like special research projects and creative ways to “tell the planning story.”

This auction involves a friendly competition among National APA Chapters and Divisions. APA is  asking each participating Chapter and Division to donate a photographic image that is representative of their Chapter that reflects the Conference theme: PLAN BIG. They hope to continue a tradition of holding a Silent Auction at the National Conference to raise money for student scholarships.

We are asked to submit one digital image that best represents our Chapter for donation to this Silent Auction.  APA wants a photo that reflects the diversity of our Chapter. Creativity is encouraged – area landmarks, a lively neighborhood scene/activity node, or a scene, structure, or activity, representative of our respective Chapter would be great!

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Now Hiring: This Week’s Job Postings

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Don’t the February doldrums seem like the perfect time to find a job?

1) Manager of Policy and Advocacy – DVGBC – Philadelphia

2) Project Director for Microfinance Demonstration Project – Drexel University School of Public Health – Philadelphia

3) Executive Director – Norris Square Neighborhood Project – Philadelphia

4) Operations Manager – 3rd Ward – Philadelphia

5) Summer Internship Community Surveyor – New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC) – Philadelphia

6) Transportation Planner – DVRPC – Philadelphia

7) Senior Transportation Modeler – DVRPC – Philadelphia

8) Senior Comprehensive Planner/Economic Specialist – Adams County Office of Planning and Development – Gettysburg, PA

9) Director of Planning & Zoning – Ferguson Township – State College, PA

10) GIS Intern – Philadelphia City Planning Office – Philadelphia

Full descriptions after the jump!

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Feb. 13: Fracking and Resource Extraction and Community Planning

Fracking and Resource Extraction and Community Planning (1.5 CM credits)

Wednesday, February 13, 2013, 3:30PM – 5:30PM

DVRPC, 190 N. Independence Mall West, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19106

Tickets are free, but you must reserve a spot at http://dvrpc.ticketleap.com/fracking/

Join DVRPC to view APA’s upcoming national webinar, Fracking and Resource Extraction and Community Planning. As America turns inward to develop energy sources and extract natural resources for local production, communities are facing major issues, including economic, environmental, housing, and social challenges. How are communities planning for this new era of resource extraction and how are they responding to new pressures on local resources? Examine the issue from multiple perspectives and examine innovative solutions.

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Feb. 23: PA Land Use Institute

The PA Land Use Institute is hosting its annual session on Saturday February 23, 2013.  The training includes two hours of updates on recent court cases specific to Pennsylvania and a 90 minute session from FEMA on floodplain management.  The session will be held at the Berks County Agricultural Center in Leesport.  Registration information can be downloaded.  The registration deadline is February 18th.

Download: 43076_GC_PS_NTOASLU_FEB13_rev

Feb. 21: Lessons From Sandy: Is Philadelphia Prepared for the Next Natural Disaster?

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Join the Pennsylvania Environmental Council for the February Urban Sustainability Forum as they consider the lessons we have learned from Hurricane Sandy and what will be required to make Philadelphia more resilient to storms, extreme weather, and other impacts of climate change in the future.

The past 10 years were the costliest in U.S. history for natural disasters. Hurricane Sandy left 131 Americans dead, more than 6 million without power, and $50 billion worth of damages, making it the second most destructive Atlantic hurricane behind Katrina. Cities along the Jersey Shore and in New York faced property damage, widespread flooding, power outages, crippled transportation systems, and loss of life. These extreme events are expected to grow in frequency and intensity because of climate change.

Panelists will discuss how we can use our knowledge from Hurricane Sandy to reduce our vulnerability and manage the risk of building and living in hazard-prone areas through better planning, engineering, and policy.

 

 

Speakers:

 

  • Scott Gabriel Knowles (Moderator), Associate Professor, Drexel University and author of The Disaster Experts: Mastering Risk in Modern America
  • Chris Linn – Manager, Office of Environmental Planning, DVRPC
  • Howard Kunreuther, James G. Dinan Professor, Wharton Business School, UPenn
  • MaryAnn E. Tierney, Regional Administrator, FEMA, Region III

 

http://www.ansp.org/Visit/Events/Details/?eid=2494&iid=8847

Feb. 21: On American Main Streets: A Conversation With Miles Orvell and Sandy Sorlien

February 21, 2:30 PM, Paley Library Lecture Hall, 1210 Polett Walk (Temple University Main Campus)

What is an American Main Street? Is it a memory or image that has been perpetuated through American writing and art? A real space within new urbanist town planning? Or is it a place where some are welcome and others are shunned? Perhaps it is all of the above. Join us to examine these real and imagined notions of American main streets with Miles Orvell and Sandy Sorlien. Orvell is the author of The Death and Life of Main Street: Small Towns in American Memory, Space, and Community (University of North Carolina Press 2012) and professor of English and American studies at Temple. In 2009, he received the Bode-Pearson Prize for lifetime achievement, awarded by the American Studies Association. Sorlien is the author of Fifty Houses: Images from the American Road (Johns Hopkins 2002), and is finishing a book about Main Streets in America with the working title The Heart of Town. She has worked since 2004 on new urbanist plans and codes for walkable streets.

**FREE AND OPEN TO ALL. REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED.**

 

**Paley Library is located at 1210 Polett Walk, between 12 and 13 Street on Temple Main Campus. The Lecture Hall is on the ground floor, one level below where you enter.**

Now Hiring: This Week’s Job Postings

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Travel all over the state with this week’s job postings:

1) Policy Director – PACDC – Philadelphia

2) Financial Analyst/Project Associate – BLS Strategies – Princeton, NJ

3) Senior Engagement Manager – City of Philadelphia, Office of Information & Technology – Philadelphia

4) Deputy Director for Housing and Real Estate – City of Reading, PA – Reading, PA

5) Graduate Summer Fellow 2013 – JOIN: Job Opportunity Investment Network – Philadelphia, PA

7) Transporation Planner – Tri-County Regional Planning Commission Position – Harrisburg, PA

8) Transportation/Community planner – Lehigh Valley Planning Commission – Allentown, PA

9) Senior Transportation Planner/Modeler/Engineer – Lehigh Valley Planning Comission – Allentown, PA

10) Market Analyst Associate – Delta Development Group, Inc. – Mechanicsburg, PA

11) Analyst/Senior Analyst, Strategic Consulting Practice – Public Financial Management – Philadelphia

12) Executive Director – Wildlands Network – Philadelphia

13) Executive Director (Part-Time) – Homeless Assistance Fund, Inc. – Philadelphia

14) Transportation Planner – Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission – Philadelphia, PA

15) Neighborhood Advisory Committee Organizer – The Partnership CDC – Philadelphia

For more statewide positions, be sure to check the APAPA’s site!

Full descriptions after the jump!

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