Pathways to Influence: Finding Your Voice as a Planning Advocate

To me, the root of our profession is advocating for what we believe will improve our communities. We have responsibilities to understand how changes can be made that will improve our community. But we're really trying to help people's lot in life. That's really where planning as a profession started. To me, there's really nothing more that's directly related to advocacy than that.

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the APA podcast. I'm Brenna Donegan, APA's Public Affairs Program Manager. Advocacy and planning are inherently connected, as you just heard from Ed LeClear, who is the Planning and Community Development Director of State College, Pennsylvania, and also APA Pennsylvania's legislative chair. Planners have the data, vision, and insights that elected officials need to be able to make informed decisions for our communities. And yet, advocacy Advocacy can still feel intimidating or even prohibited to planners. So I sat down with three planning advocates to demystify advocacy work and better understand how it can be empowering in a planning career and why we need planning voices at the table now more than ever. Let's hear from APA Iowa President, Madeline Sturms, who serves as Assistant City Manager and Community Development Director for Pleasant Hill, Iowa.

Planners are a critical part of the decision-making process. They are the ones that are closest to local government, which is closest to the residents, and have the most flexibility to respond to the needs of residents. Oftentimes, legislators have big, important ideas that they are trying to implement, but they don't really understand what the ripple effects are at the local level. They need planners at the table in order to be able to understand what that long-term vision is and how it's directly going to impact the residents of a community or the individuals in the state and how this is going to implement what their ideas are at the local level.

Why are planners in in particular, the professionals that need to bring that information? Well, because they are uniquely trained to gather data and synthesize it into something that is understandable and actionable to decision-makers. Back to Ed LeClear on this.

We use data and information, and that can be everything from GIS or census or just community knowledge about walking through our communities and the people that live here. But we're using all that to make an argument. And I think that that is where our skill set really aligns with advocacy, because we need to know how to use that information and make a compelling argument to other humans. We need to be able to say to decision makers, this is why this is a good idea, and understanding also who decision are and power structure, et cetera. But at the end of the day, we hope they make good decisions, and that means that we have really a responsibility to have identified what we think a good decision is and what a good outcome is. I think all of that skillset lends itself really well to the advocacy world.

Okay, so planners are on the front lines in our communities, which means they have the data elected officials need, and they have the professional skillset to translate in a way that makes sense for more informed decisions. Ideally, there will be some political will to make the planner-supported direction a reality. But advocacy doesn't stop with one decision. How does it manifest during implementation Foundation. Let's hear now from Laila Imihy, the Deputy City Manager for the City of Mound in Minnesota, on how a groundswell of support for zoning reform is shaping housing policy in the state, and how APA Minnesota is staying involved.

At an estate level, we definitely have both developers and housing advocates really pushing at the legislature for housing reform and taking some different approaches about what's allowed places, different limitations for what cities can and can't require, really doing some upzoning legislation of eliminating single family housing, allowing for ADUs. I think these are all the types of requests that both advocates and developers are asking at the legislature. We've been really fortunate as a chapter to be really involved in those conversations. And so we just had our first housing panel with some legislators who are working on this and who have identified housing as a really core issue for them. I think our stance as a chapter has been we're not necessarily going to support or be against a form of legislation. We recognize that communities need housing, and we all have our own different stories and reasons why in every community, and every community is different. I think what we're about to see is the third run in our state legislature at this housing legislation, and it's come a really long way. I think the first versions of it, we felt as planners, really completely unworkable, and mostly because we didn't understand it.

It was written by legislators and housing builders, and there were things confusing zoning code and building permits, right? And not really understanding just even the process. And so if we as planners don't understand it, how is that actually going to help housing production? We We really worked hard. Our legislative and law committee and our planning chapter have been incredible. Biggest shout out to our folks who run that because they've really, really built those relationships to make the APA Minnesota Chapter, a really trusted source on being like, Okay, as planners, being part of that communication of how that works and how you can build things and what does it look like? Because there's a lot of terms that I think have gotten very popular, missing middle, or transit supportive housing or whatever. I think people sometimes think they know what that means. They don't always know what that means. And so as a chapter, really helping try to demystify that for the average person and be thinking about those communities that have limited planning support or capacity as we make changes that are going to impact them as a state. And so we've built a lot of really amazing relationships with our legislators to just help them simplify, make it so that any person can understand it, make it so that cities that have done a lot of zoning reform, and there's some really amazing examples of that in the metro area, don't feel punished or feel like they're going to have to start rewriting in their code, that they are already included in what this language would be requiring.

And so I think this is a really bipartisan effort in Minnesota because there are places in Greater Minnesota Whether that's somewhere that's very populous, like Duluth, or somewhere that's smaller on the Iron Range, or smaller cities outside Rochester, that are all fighting for this need for housing.

APA Iowa, has also been active in state housing policy. Like Laila, Madeline shares that it all starts with relationship building and establishing the chapter as a valuable resource and partner.

We have slowly been trying to build up our reputation that we are the experts in this topic, and we are the resource for legislators to talk to about planning-related issues. One of the things that came out of the last legislative session was a focus from AARP and several other organizations to have preemption related to accessory dwelling units, which is something that our communities have all been having conversations about of how can we, at the local level, advance more housing. So that bill ultimately got passed at the state level, which requires cities or counties in Iowa to allow an accessory dwelling unit on any lot where there's an existing single-family house. We have been working hand-on-hand with ARP on the implementation of that bill and how we are trying to get the word out and what those next steps would be so that we can have some more housing affordability or housing availability across the state.

States like Minnesota, Iowa, and Pennsylvania are making great strides on boosting housing options, thanks to planning advocates. There are resources at federal level that would help support this work, which means Congress also needs to hear the planners' perspective. Madeline, Ed, and Laila all went to Capitol Hill recently to advocate for federal programs and legislation that would empower local planners to create more housing for all communities. They shared with me some specific kinds of support that they spoke about with their members of Congress.

The federal support that we need at the local level has really been enumerated through the Road to Housing bill that APA has been advocating on behalf of. The components that are within that all can really help address the housing crisis at the local level. Everything from helping to provide data and resources so that we can understand what important things are happening or what innovative things are happening in other cities across the country that we could implement in our own communities to make a difference, to streamlining the federal funding process he is so that the money that is already allocated is better able and more quickly able to be spent at the local level.

I think it's two things in terms of support that the federal government can provide. Again, I'm a local municipal planner, so I spend every day on the ground in my own community and in my state trying to find resources to help fix problems. Those problems are varied, but I think our profession is focused very much on how things are built, what's built, where is it built, and do we have the infrastructure behind it, and will it improve, especially these days, improve the housing situation for people, Whether it be for affordability, location, the infrastructure around it, transit, et cetera. When I'm talking with federal officials, it's A, are there ways to change the rules that will help local governments better improve their communities and their citizens' lives? Secondly, are there programs and funding sources that can be better allocated? I'm a big believer in capacity building. We don't have enough people on the ground in our communities to help change the zoning regulations that are needed to improve our housing situation. When I first started working in Pennsylvania in the early 2000s, I was working a lot of communities around the state, and it became very clear that the last time many of these municipalities had updated their zoning ordinance was in the 1 970s, when there was the old 7-1 program that was federal funding for comprehensive plan work, zoning work, et cetera. So to go from 1973 to 2003, where no really comprehensive zoning work had been done because there wasn't the federal resources, there weren't the people on the ground to help, that really taught me a lesson that that was needed. And it was that level of resources that was needed in order to really move the needle.

I worked as a planning consultant for a long time, and I worked largely in the Metro area for cities, even when you talk about the greater Minneapolis-St Paul area, that their staffing was just really limited for a lot of reasons, but especially right now in an economy where it's not great. Staff are expensive. And so I think for most communities, they don't have a planner on staff, not because they don't think they need one, but because they just can't afford it. You're trying to do a lot of things, have roads and streets and parks and police and fire. And so sometimes the planning support ends up really far down the list of things that as a city, you have to prioritize. I think this is like rural communities everywhere. It's not like we don't value planning, and so that's why we don't have a planner. It's that we have to value so many things, and cities are tasked with making really tough budgetary choices.

Of course, we know that not everyone is seeing eye to eye in terms of how to approach solutions for the housing crisis. Ed and Madeline speak on the challenges that come with meeting with an elected official who has different priorities than what you are there to advocate for.

First of all, and I have to give credit to APA. APA's staff's always provided those of us who are going into the meetings with a lot of background info about the districts, the interests of the elected officials. I think it starts with some of that background research of trying to find where that common ground is. Just trying to relate, okay, well, what's an issue you care about? Okay, there is a housing component to that and how to connect those dots to, okay, let's talk maybe about an issue you haven't given a lot of thought to and try to relate that. I think that's a skill that planners bring to the table, and that's how you try to weave that. Also trying to use stories of constituents. I think that's always effective in saying, Hey, these are folks who are living in your district. This is what they're facing. I know you want to try to help them. How are maybe some of the broader policies that APA is advocating for? How would that make that person's life better? Who's a constituent of yours, and trying to connect the dots that way, The one challenge that I had was that I was in a long line of folks that they were meeting with from the district that day.

And so there were conversations and questions that were being brought up in my meetings that I was not there to talk about, that I got asked questions about transportation reauthorization, which is important and something that I care about, but wasn't what I had prepped to have a conversation for that day. Really just being able to wing it and make sure that... I told several of that I'd be happy to follow up. I don't have those exact details. I don't have that information with me today, but I'll send you an email and I'll follow up. Just being able to be flexible and think on your feet to still have a professional conversation while you don't know what they're going to ask you about.

In the end, advocacy is about long-term relationship building. One meeting, even an intimidating or tense one, is not the beyond end all of positioning planners as the experts they are. We heard earlier about the work APA, Minnesota, and APA Iowa have done to build relationships with state legislators and shape the future of housing policy. Let's hear from Madelyne now on what a relationship at the federal level can look like.

My own congressman who represents the third district in Iowa has really been a partner and advocate in helping to advance affordable and attainable housing for Iowians. Really what he needed from me as a local advocate were stories. How would this impact local communities within the district that we can use to sell that these things are important? What are the obstacles that your local communities are having that we can help be a resource to? So has really opened that dialog between his office and myself to continue to have that conversation as we go. And as I hear things, I am continuously sending them emails to say, Hey, this is happening here. Just wanted to make sure that you knew because that's going to be helpful to your conversation. But really, it showed how passionate or the passion that there is for housing at the federal level that they want to help us solve this problem, which left me feeling much more excited. I had no expectation that a federal representative would be as passionate about housing supply as me as a local planner who sees us on a daily basis would be.

As we move forward into 2026, there's growing momentum for planning advocates to continue their vision-driven work. Elected officials see planners as non-partisan leaders on housing, transportation, and shaping great communities. For planners who are interested in getting involved in advocacy, but may be hesitant to start, our Planning Advocates have some advice for you.

We're very service-minded as planners, and so it probably doesn't feel as natural to be like, No, I am the expert. I know this really well. I think if folks are on the fence about, Should I engage in advocacy work? Or should I reach out to my senator? Or should I join my legislative and law committee at my chapter? You're an expert in You have so much knowledge. And if you're working with legislators who are willing to say, I'm not the expert on it, it's such a beautiful space to be in of legislators who are maybe really passionate about housing reform and aren't 100 % sure how to do that. You can be such a helpful and valuable resource to them.

I've had mentors who have said for years, none of the work that you do every day is wasted Sometimes it's just planting the seed for a future planner or future decision-makers to find, and it will sprout and grow later. Just to remember that all this advocacy work that was done for decades on housing, we're suddenly at a moment where that can bear fruit and that can change things and move the needle. But that's relying on decades of work of other planners and housing professionals trying to improve opportunities for people to have housing and fix the homelessness problem. So I think at the end of the day, I'd love planners to realize that put the work in, and you may not see it have a result today, but it doesn't mean it's not worth doing. And that it's exciting that when you do work for years in your career and you start to see it actually bear fruit, there's really nothing that's more rewarding than that.

The legislative day, the Advocacy Day on the Hill that national hosts in the summer is an incredible opportunity that is such a low barrier to entry on how to start those conversations. That the legislative team does so much work to provide you with all of the support and the resources and the training and the talking points. Here's how to tell your story. That it really takes a lot of the guesswork out of it and gives you exactly the framework in order to be able to have those conversations and feel confident when you are going into those conversations. The other thing I would say is that I would encourage you to reach out to your local legislative liaison or chapter president who is often also probably doing some of this work. If you want someone to attend some of those meetings with you or have some of those conversations or, Hey, can you help me brainstorm some stories so that I have those to give here? That there's lots of other people in your state that are likely doing this work and passionate about it. The more that we have selling this story and telling this story about why planning is so important, the better it is.

I would love to have a conversation with anyone about how they can get into advocacy in order to be able to help continue to build the importance of planning.

A huge thank you to Ed LeClear, Laila Imihy, and Madeline Sturms for sharing their advocacy stories. Feeling inspired to get involved? Go to planning.org/advocacy to join our Planners Advocacy Network and get federal updates on planning issues straight to your inbox. You can also follow APA Advocates on Twitter for real-time content and legislative updates from across the country. If you want to hear more great conversations with experts from across the planning landscape, subscribe to the APA podcast. And if you like what you're hearing, rate us on iTunes. You can find the APA podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also find our entire library of past episodes at planning.org/podcast.