Upskilling Planners
APA Strategic Initiative
Practical Skills For Planners
Upskilling is a process of teaching or learning new skills relevant to a job or profession that helps employees adapt to changing needs.
About APA's Upskilling Planners Initiative
As the world around us shifts, planners must understand the dynamics of change and adjust to ensure they can continue to create great communities for all. This involves adapting planning processes and approaches and committing to continuous learning and upskilling.
APA has launched the Upskilling Planners Initiative to equip planners with the right skillsets to excel in dynamic environments shaped by evolving approaches and technologies. Our goal is to ensure planners are fully prepared for the future and equipped with the knowledge, insights, and skills needed to navigate changing environments adeptly.
Feel passionate about shaping the future of planning? If you would like to be involved in developing skills-based resources and training, don't hesitate to reach out to Amanda Acevedo, Career Services and Professional Development Manager.
Upcoming Upskilling Events
Unlock the Power of Digital Twins for Planning
Thursday, February 27 & Friday, February 28, 2025 | Noon– 2:00 pm (Central Time, US)
Digital Twins have the potential to revolutionize planning as a critical decision-support tool. Picture a dynamic digital replica of a district, corridor, city, or region — powered by real-time data and capable of simulating external trends, future scenarios, and local interventions. But how do we turn raw data into such a transformative tool?
Join us for two interactive, 2-hour online training sessions designed to explore planning-specific use cases for digital twins and guide you through developing a local or regional digital twin strategy.
Our Upskilling Portfolio
The Upskilling Planners Initiative portfolio of resources is tailored to address the essential skills planners need to thrive in a rapidly changing environment. From webinars on achieving proficiency in using technology for planning to workshops on honing soft skills like conflict resolution for politically charged community meetings, these resources are crafted to equip planners with practical methods and best practices that can be immediately applied for enhanced effectiveness at work.
Upskilling Resources
What We're Working On: Upskilling Sessions at NPC25
Upleveling with digital twin
Saturday, March 29, 2025, | 11:00 am–12:30 pm (Mountain Time, US)
Take your knowledge of Digital Twin to the next level by understanding the critical processes of assessing, selecting, and procuring technology and data-enabling solutions. Gain a deep understanding of the current state of digital urban planning technology within your organization and how Digital Twin capabilities can seamlessly integrate with — or challenge — your existing systems. Get practical insights on how to engage effectively with potential suppliers, ensuring that your organization is fully prepared before making any investment in technology and data analysis products or services.
Planning with Strategic Foresight
Sunday, March 30, 2025 | 10:30 am–Noon (Mountain Time, US)
Futures literacy, "the skill that allows people to better understand the role that the future plays in what they see and do," becomes ever-more important in this fast-changing world. It entails the ability to imagine multiple plausible futures, use the future in our work, and plan with the future. To help communities navigate change now and later, planners need to understand how future uncertainties may affect the community, how to prepare for them, and how to pivot while the future is approaching. If you want to make the future a better place, learn to use strategic foresight in planning.
More than Facebook: Building a Digital Engagement STRategy That Works
Monday, March 31, 2025 | 10:30 am–Noon (Mountain Time, US)
Five years ago, planners across the country helped the communities they serve pivot to online public meetings. Since then, proprietary and open-source public participation tools and platforms have proliferated, leaving us adrift in a sea of options. Yet, in many cases, these new tools have done little to help planners engage traditionally underrepresented groups or strengthen trust in planning processes. Effective digital engagement requires a new strategy and not just new tools.
Identifying Skill Gaps
The Upskilling Planners Initiative is anchored in APA Foresight, which focuses on understanding external drivers of change beyond our control, preparing for them, and determining the appropriate actions. We use strategic foresight to pinpoint the skills required to address emerging trends and challenges. In addition to leveraging APA's Foresight practice, we actively collaborate with diverse planning practitioners, researchers, and educators to identify skills gaps.
More Upskilling Resources
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Use These 5 Conflict Resolution Tips to Design Better Meetings
Don’t get bulldozed. Learn ways to navigate conflicts to achieve shared goals with stakeholders.by: Jon DePaolis January 11, 2024Don’t get bulldozed. Learn ways to navigate conflicts to achieve shared goals with stakeholders. -
Future-Proof Your Urban Planning Career with These 6 Important Skills
Critical thinking, empathetic listening, and cultural competency will help you upskill in an ever-changing world.by: Linda McIntyre, AICP November 09, 2023Critical thinking, empathetic listening, and cultural competency will help you upskill in an ever-changing world. -
Planners Manage Conflict Every Day: Here's How to Get Better at It
7 takeaways to help you anticipate challenges, use emotional intelligence, and problem-solve with critical thinking.by: Linda McIntyre, AICP October 12, 20237 takeaways to help you anticipate challenges, use emotional intelligence, and problem-solve with critical thinking. -
5 Ways Empathy Can Help You Be a Better Planner
Create a culture of care, address inequities, and grow your career by leading with this increasingly important skill.by: Corrin Hoegen Wendell, AICP September 07, 2023Create a culture of care, address inequities, and grow your career by leading with this increasingly important skill. -
Upskilling Ourselves and the Planning Profession
In an age of disruptors, planners are constantly called on to learn new skills. Here's how APA can help.by: Sagar Shah, PhD, AICP March 31, 2022In an age of disruptors, planners are constantly called on to learn new skills. Here's how APA can help. -
How to Overcome Local Pushback on Climate Action
From cost-benefit analyses to "climate ambassadors," communities are coming together to transcend this politically polarizing issue.by: Brian Barth September 16, 2021From cost-benefit analyses to "climate ambassadors," communities are coming together to transcend this politically polarizing issue. -
Navigating the 'E-Word' across Conservative Landscapes: The Quiet Controversy of ‘Equity’ in Planning
Explore how EDI — an essential element in ensuring fair access to resources — can provoke debate in conservative areas. We’ll discuss what happens when these terms become contentious and how planners can navigate these challenges using alternative language to build trust and foster collaboration.- Samantha Castro, AICP
- Caleb Knutson
- Daniel Besinaiz
- Laura Everitt, AICP
#9301153CM | 1Eq | 1
AI in Planning: Opportunities and Challenges and How to Prepare
Conclusions and Recommendations from APA's "AI in Planning" Foresight Communityby: Clinton Andrews, AICP, Keith Cooke, Alexsandra Gomez, Petra Hurtado, PhD, Thomas Sanchez, AICP, Sagar Shah, PhD, AICP, Norman Wright, AICP September 09, 2022This white paper summarizes findings from APA's "AI in Planning" Foresight Community and suggests initial ideas on how planners can prepare for AI and its potential impacts, how planners can ensure AI-based planning tools are used in equitable and inclusive ways, and what the role of the planner should be in developing and using AI-based planning tools.
Using the Future to Create Dynamic Plans
This interactive, self-paced training will equip planners with essential skills to navigate change and understand how future uncertainties may impact communities. Learn to use strategic foresight in planning to effectively imagine the future and plan for change.- Amy Cotter
- Brett Fusco
- Alexsandra Gomez
- Robert Goodspeed, AICP
- Heather Sauceda Hannon, AICP
- Petra Hurtado, PhD
- Sagar Shah, PhD, AICP
- Benjamin Zellers, AICP
#9259896CM | 6
Embracing Conflict: Honing Your Conflict Management Skills
by: Jennifer RaittConflict is increasingly permeating through every aspect of our lives — and community meetings are no exception.
How Technology Is Shaping Planning and Your Career
by: David Wasserman, AICP, Thomas Sanchez, AICPMembers of APA's Technology Division continue the conversation on the technical skills and knowledge that emerging professionals need to consider to keep pace with the future of planning.