Research Agenda
The APA Foundation supports research that provides planners with tools and solutions to help communities plan for future challenges and respond to trends.
FutureShape is one such research initiative. FutureShape is a collaboratively produced research agenda for the planning profession that can be used by funders, researchers, and others as a guide to prioritize research activities worldwide.
FutureShape was created by thought leaders, planners, officials, and funders to build an authoritative blueprint for the impact of planning in the 21st century.
FutureShape
FutureShape is the first-ever research agenda for the planning profession, to be used by funders, researchers, and others as a guide to prioritize research activities worldwide. The multi-year effort has identified five broad research themes and 18 planning issues that will impact the future of our communities and the work of planners.
The themes include:
- Disruptors and megatrends
- Climate change, resilience, and sustainability
- Equity, inclusion, and sustainability
- Healthy and livable communities
- Plan making and implementation
Read more about FutureShape and how its timely priorities will help the planning profession play a role in creating more resilient, equitable, and sustainable communites.
A Research Agenda for the Planning Profession
FutureShape is a signature cause of the APA Foundation. This report presents the FutureShape research agenda, calls on key planning stakeholders to use the agenda in their work, and summarizes the process steps that informed the agenda.
Contributors
Steering Committee
Mary Kay Peck, FAICP (Chair)
MKPeck Associates
Leo Asuncion, Jr., AICP
State of Hawaii
Kurt Christiansen, FAICP
Formerly at City of Azusa
Don Elliott, FAICP
Clarion Associates
Rodger Lentz, AICP
City of Wilson
Mike McAnelly, FAICP
Texas Chapter, APA
Plans and Plan Making Workgroup
Bob Barber, FAICP (Chair)
Orion Planning + Design
Nader Afzalan, PhD
Urban Footprint
Eugenie Birch, PhD, FAICP
University of Pennsylvania
David Rouse, FAICP
American Planning Association
Chris Silver, PhD, FAICP
University of Florida
Jennifer S. Vey
Brookings Institute
Jordan Yin, PhD, AICP
Alabama A&M University
Built Environment Workgroup
Brian Campbell, FAICP (Chair)
Retired
Whit Blanton, FAICP
Forward Pinellas
Robert Cervero, PhD
University of California, Berkeley
Reid Ewing, PhD
University of Utah
Justin Moore
NYC Public Design Commission
Arthur "Chris" Nelson, FAICP
University of Arizona
Mike Sanio
American Society of Civil Engineers
Sagar Shah, PhD, AICP
American Planning Association
Plan Implementation Workgroup
Bob Mitchell, FAICP (Chair)
Robert P. Mitchell, FAICP Consulting
Tom Dallessio
Formerly at Next City
David Morley, AICP
American Planning Association
John Mullin, PhD, FAICP
University of Massachusetts Amherst
Peter Pollock, FAICP
Retired
Nancy Stroud, FAICP
Lewis, Stroud, & Deutsch
Mildred Warner
Cornell University
Environmental Management Workgroup
Peter Lowitt, FAICP (Chair)
Devens Enterprise
Armando Carbonell, FAICP
Lincoln Land Institute
Kurt Culbertson
Design Workshop
Justin Hollander, PhD, AICP
Tufts University
Laurie Johnson
Laurie Johnson Consulting
Bob Leiter, FAICP
Retired
David Rouse, FAICP
American Planning Association
Kathleen Wolf, PhD
University of Washington