Blogs

September 12, 2023

Housing Finance Takes Focus at Most Recent Housing Supply Accelerator Convening

The second Housing Supply Accelerator convening held in Tacoma, Washington, focused on housing finance, including filling the information gap, public-private partnerships, and utilizing federal funding and programs.

August 31, 2023

Addressing Racial Harms Through Reparative Planning

Uncovering JAPA: A framework that provides theory and practice for planners working toward urban justice.

August 14, 2023

Whose Status Quo Should Zoning Protect?

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: How can zoning protect historically disadvantaged and vulnerable neighborhoods and business districts?

August 10, 2023

Using Reparative Planning to Address Infrastructural Systems

Uncovering JAPA: ACT-LA aims to apply a divest-invest approach to stopping systems and practices that have caused harm.

August 3, 2023

Black Counternarratives in Planning History

Uncovering JAPA: Understanding planning history from the perspective of those oppressed by traditional planning ensures the oppressed are no longer dismissed as passive victims but active players in their lives and communities.

July 13, 2023

SHELTER: A Redistributive Affordable Housing Policy

Uncovering JAPA: Plan to reuse existing revenues to fund innovative housing policy reforms.

July 10, 2023

Small Churches Equal Big Opportunity

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: Does your zoning allow new housing on faith-based land?

June 21, 2023

Three Chicago Housing Developments Meeting Community Needs

Members of the Housing Supply Accelerator Steering Committee tour three housing developments on Chicago's south and west sides to see innovation at work.

June 21, 2023

Construction and Development Issues Take Focus at Latest Housing Supply Accelerator Convening

Recent Housing Supply Accelerator convening explored the various issues and opportunities related to construction and development of the nation's housing.

June 13, 2023

Six LGBTQ+ Walking Tours

This June, learn about LGBTQ history while on your feet at one of these six historical walking tours.

June 7, 2023

The Importance of Intergenerational Communities

Multigenerational and age-friendly communities create a vehicle to bring generations together; reduce age segregation and ageism; decrease social isolation, depression, and loneliness; and improve community infrastructure and facilities.

June 6, 2023

New Habitat Restoration Tool Helps to Prioritize Equity

Equity in Practice: Fort Collins created a habitat equity tool that focuses not just on nature but people.

June 1, 2023

Designing Age-Friendly Connectivity in Melbourne, Australia

Uncovering JAPA: Study finds it necessary for planners to take action to ensure the built environment becomes more age-friendly.

An Activist Walking Guide to Philadelphia's Chinatown

A walking tour during NPC23 illustrates the opportunities and challenges facing Philadelphia's Chinatown.

May 23, 2023

Immigrant and Refugee Empowerment is Social Justice

A walking tour during NPC23 highlighted the impact of local community groups as they advocate for API residents.

May 5, 2023

Take 5: Celebrating Five Locations Honoring AAPI Heritage

Take 5: Travel the U.S. and learn about five places of significance that honor the heritage of Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Centering Equity in Planning and Public Health Collaborations

Uncovering JAPA: Without an equity focus, planning and public health collaborations can harm vulnerable communities or lead to ineffective policies.

April 14, 2023

Planning for Neurodiversity: NPC23 Planners' Day of Service

Planners' Day of Service at NPC23 explored neurodiversity within the built environment and assembled Calm Kits for a local Philadelphia organization.

March 30, 2023

Enforcing Asian Exclusion Through Design and Planning Regulations

Uncovering JAPA: Three cities in Los Angeles County developed stringent development controls to encourage Anglo or Spanish heritage in response to Asian newcomers.

March 22, 2023

National Experts Join the Housing Supply Accelerator to Guide Meaningful Action

National experts appointed to help guide the Housing Supply Accelerator.

March 2, 2023

Maximizing Affordable Housing Production Under Inclusionary Zoning

Uncovering JAPA: Authors aim to understand the effectiveness of different inclusionary zoning policies.

January 12, 2023

Decriminalizing Vehicular Homelessness in Los Angeles

Uncovering JAPA: Restrictive vehicle ordinances do not reduce the prevalence of vehicular homelessness, but shift it to different communities.

Removing Freeways and Healing Communities

Equity in Practice: The economic and community outcomes of removing Milwaukee's Park East Freeway.

Restorative Planning in Action: Lessons from Mound Up!

Equity in Practice: Community-led planning effort builds upon Memphis 3.0 to revitalize Orange Mound neighborhood.

Restoring Pueblo Housing and Rebuilding Community Value

Equity in Practice: Owe'neh Bupingeh Preservation plan guides housing improvements according to cultural values.

How to Integrate Climate Equity Into Planning

Uncovering JAPA: Apply three aspects of equity to make the climate action planning process more inclusive.

Building Community Relationships Through Pop Ups

Equity in Practice: Champaign, Illinois, planners use a pop up park to create a stronger relationship with the Garden Hills neighborhood.

Challenging Storytelling and Narratives That Reinforce Inequity

Uncovering JAPA: The risk of reproducing racist assumptions or narratives in planning.

Implementing Transit Value Capture Schemes More Equitably

Uncovering JAPA: What can transit value capture teach us about the intersection of entrenched segregation and transportation planning?

7 Tips for Starting Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committees

As municipal planning departments adopt a fairness and equity mindset in their work with the communities they serve it highlights the state of their own workplace practices and the work needed to elevate equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) goals within the planning firms and public agencies. Offer how to get unstuck on translating the goals into action.

September 13, 2022

Do Your Planning Boards Reflect Your Community?

Spotlight on Zoning Practice: It's time to get serious about diversifying local planning and zoning boards.

July 18, 2022

Housing Scarcity Is Worse Than Ever

A recent report demonstrates that the underproduction of housing units affects 47 states and Washington D.C., and its impacts are being felt in all kinds of places, from dense urban areas to small, rural towns.

June 23, 2022

Ensuring "Open Streets" Plans Advance Social Equity

Uncovering JAPA: Pandemic-created open streets can be a lifeline, but also exacerbate inequities without careful implementation.

June 7, 2022

Modernize Planning and Zoning Practices to Improve Affordability and Equity

Sponsored Content from enCode Plus: A conversation with planning and zoning industry veteran Bret C. Keast, AICP, on addressing affordability and equity, two of the biggest issues in planning and zoning circles.

April 20, 2022

Giving Back to San Diego During NPC22

As planners prepare to come together for NPC22, attendees have several opportunities to give back to our host city.

April 14, 2022

Confronting Spatial Inequalities

Uncovering JAPA: 'Place-based' policies can help address growing interregional inequality within the U.S.

Making Disaster Recovery More Equitable

Uncovering JAPA: The aftermath of Hurricane Dolly (2008) on the colonias of the Rio Grande Valley illustrate the need for equitable disaster recovery.

March 3, 2022

Land-Use Characteristics Contributing to Region-Wide Housing Inequities

Uncovering JAPA: Authors examine 180 cities in Southern California to determine if changing residential land uses reduce housing inequities.

January 27, 2022

Does Cultural Planning Deliver on Equity and Inclusion?

Uncovering JAPA: While planners have long valued diversity, equity, and inclusion, Municipal cultural plans too often treat diversity, equity, and inclusion superficially.

January 6, 2022

Accessibility and Public Engagement For People Living With Dementia

Uncovering JAPA: Solutions for ensuring people living with dementia are included in the planning process.

December 16, 2021

Affordable Housing Negotiations

Uncovering JAPA: How do uneven negotiating powers stymie affordable housing development?

December 7, 2021

The Silver Linings of Asset-Based Community Development

Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) is a framework to discover and mobilize assets or resources available in a community and use them to benefit residents.

December 2, 2021

Parents in Vancouver's Dense Family-Oriented Urbanism

Uncovering JAPA: Exploration of how policy, family-oriented design, and programming has the ability to influence parents' locational choice in where to raise their family.