APA NPC ’23 – The Aftermath

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Well, it’s over, the planning nerds have left Philly. NPC 23 is finally over. The residents can feel safe from the horde of planners taking pictures of streetscapes, signs, and other inanimate objects in the public realm. For those of you who aren’t planners, and don’t believe me…

Independence Hall Lawn at Night

Philly Parking Garage 2023

Parkade on 8th, Philadelphia, PA

Yes, I took pictures of a parking garage while in town. I’m working on various streetscape, park development, and parking garage projects for my employer, so I have a worthwhile excuse. (Though I’d likely take the same pictures if I wasn’t)

Over 4,000 planning geeks descended on the Center City (don’t call it “downtown”) Philadelphia for the annual APA National Planning Conference (NPC ’23) a few weeks ago. The annual COMICON for planning nerds was a successful event.

Kicking things Off

Angela Brooks led things off with a sense of energy and passion for what APA had in store. Unfortunately, I was a little underwhelmed by the opening keynote that followed. There was a good back and forth with Angela and Opening Keynote Michelle Miller. But it was hard to beat Mike Ford’s Opening Keynote speech from NPC 22.

Opening Sessions 2023

Opening Session 2023

I was more emotionally driven by the closing keynote speaker. But then again, as an amputee, I had something I could connect with in Rebekah Taussig’s (@rebekahtaussig) speech. Rebekah talked of the struggles of her wheelchair-bound body in an environment not built with her in mind. At one point she stated, “The way we build the world tells a story about who we believe belongs here.”

The mass of planning geeks descended on the sessions like a wave of infantry storming the beaches on their assault for more education on community planning. A number of the sessions were unfortunately overpacked, creating an uneasy game of musical chairs, with the losers peeking in from outside the door to see what they can of the session.

Rural Planning at NPC

In addition to the planning-oriented bus tour of the city, I also attended a variety of sessions. Many of them with aspects that could help rural communities.

NPZA and APA Nebraska member Chad Nabity (@Chadn1) presented another short session at the conference this year. “Economic Gardening: A Planner and Farmer” examined the details of being both a farmer and a regulator. It is an intriguing look into how a planner balances personal and professional goals in the same jurisdiction.

There was an overwhelming theme throughout the conference about the affordable housing issue. It was a good warm-up to Affordable Housing Month, which is just around the corner. At the various sessions, I learned that AARP was rolling out new booklets on missing middle housing for community leaders. I also learned that a number of states were working on a national zoning atlas in an attempt to show where zoning regulations were hampering efforts to develop alternative housing types. Overall, there were quite a few sessions that dealt with zoning reform to assist new housing development as well as sessions that concentrated on missing middle housing.

Like Chad, Emily Goellner of the City of Wayzata, Minnesota held another short session. This one, “Land of 10,000 Plans: Waterfront Plans of Minnesota“, was a great session that zipped through a few of the many waterfront plans that have been made in the “Land of 10,000 lakes” (there are actually many more than 10,000). Though the session was brief, it served as a starting point for me to check out what I can about the plans she mentioned. I like to check out the plans themselves anyway.

Philadelphia as a Venue for NPC

Philadelphia itself was a great venue for NPC. It is the birthplace of America after all. The city itself is an absolute playground for those intrigued by the history of this country. Many would start their astute observations of the history of the city with Independence Hall, the National Constitution Center, or any of the other overwhelming number of historic sites throughout town. But I’ll start with the monstrosity below. It is Philadelphia City Hall. It is 630,000 square feet in size. I’ve been in city halls with about 630 square feet of room over the years. So the size is quite daunting. It is also notably beautiful at night.

Philadelphia City Hall

Of course, there is a variety of other historical sites to visit throughout the community. You basically cannot go a block in the Old City neighborhood without seeing a historical marker sign or a museum of some type. But then there’s the art. There are a number of statues that have been placed throughout the Center City area throughout the years. But the city also has an ordinance that requires one percent of the total dollar amount of any City-funded construction project to be devoted to original site-specific public art. So art was very prevalent wherever we went.

A Rewarding Experience

As noted in my earlier post, Five Years of Rural Resurrection, a few awards have come my way in part due to my work with this blog. One of those I was able to pick up at the Small Town and Rural Planning Division Planning Awards ceremony at the conference. The award that I received was the Carol Thomas for Small Town and Rural Planner Award. The award is given annually to “an individual in public service, academia or the private sector that has made an outstanding contribution to planning in their community.”

I’m very honored to receive the award. But I’m also equally honored to have a few of my fellow APA Nebraska members in attendance. I also want to thank those who nominated me for the award, I am flattered by your recommendation to the awards committee for this award.

In Summary

Everyone talked about how they were happy to be back in person and it showed. Conference-goers enjoyed a great event at a great venue. I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference. In the spring of 2024, Minneapolis natives will have to get used to masses of visitors gawking at well-designed plazas, streetscapes, and other inanimate well-planned areas.

Until then, keep in mind that all of us that are involved in planning our communities are included in Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Kevin’s father, Ed Bacon, was a member of the Philadelphia City Planning Commission. He was integral to urban planning in Philly and is sometimes described as “The Father of Modern Philadelphia”. I guess I would need to know someone in the Philadelphia Planning Department that knew Ed to make the actual connection. But I’ll take what I can get.

Ed Bacon