APA NPC ’25 – Denver – The Aftermath

The APA National Planning Conference (NPC ’25) was quite the event his year. For five days, planning nerds from around the nation (and the world) descended on the Mile High City in their desire to quench an insatiable thirst for more planning knowledge.

APA CEO Joel Albizo (@JoelAlbizo) and APA Board President Sue Schwartz welcomed everyone to the event. Sue, who recently spoke at the Nebraska Planning Conference, was wearing an Eagles jersey with her name plastered on the back shoulder. I guess I can forgive her poor choice of team!

The opening keynote was Dr. Mary Beth Janke, a Clinical and Forensic Psychologist with experience across the world, including as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service. She had a very thoughtful speech about the psychological impacts of our positions and how to make adjustments to handle adversity.

Denver as the Venue

Much like Minneapolis, the year before, I was quite wary of Denver as a venue. The Mile High City is not typically warm during the month of April. Unfortunately, the weather took a bit of a downturn right before we arrived. The temperatures were in the 50s with occasional rain. But we made the most of it anyway. Downtown Denver is a lively and interesting destination with pedestrian plazas, numerous murals and pieces of public art, and some interesting architecture.

16th Street

One of the main destinations I was looking forward to was 16th Street. Denver has spent quite a penny to remake this downtown street into a long pedestrian plaza. Stretching from Market Street to Broadway, this pedestrian-only zone is 12.5 blocks long.

Unfortunately, much of it was still under reconstruction. So we weaved through temporary construction pathways to traverse its length. Along the path of this pedestrian plaza, there are already plenty of parks, public art, shopping, and restaurants. When completed, it should be quite the draw for residents and visitors alike.

Larimer Square

What likely spurred the conversion of 16th Street to a multi-block pedestrian plaza was the success of Larimer Square. Actually, just a block’s worth of street, Larimer Square has the notoriety of being home to many of the firsts for Denver. It was the city’s first block and its first commercial district. The street was also home to its first residence and first city hall. In 1971, it became the city’s first designated historic district.

This street is blocked off with bollards and planters, making it a safe pedestrian plaza. Along with the strings of light and flags waving in the wind, the streetscape has been enhanced with pergolas, plantings, and sidewalk cafe-style seating. The buildings themselves have been renovated, with the ornate architecture of their facades welcoming visitors back in time.

Civic Centre Park

If you follow 16th Street to the end of the pedestrian plaza area, you run into Broadway, which leads you a block south to Civic Center Park. This massive greenspace is lush with flowers and other plantings during the warmer months.

Civic Center Park sits amongst a variety of civic buildings (…hence the name). At the forefront is the Colorado State Capitol with its golden dome, sitting high upon a hill. But there’s also the Denver County offices, the Denver Mint, the Colorado Supreme Court, the Denver Public Library, and the Denver Art Museum.

A Unique Restaurant that Led to More

As with every year, part of my excitement with NPC is the food. A new city each year brings with it new restaurants to try. This year was no different.

Of course, I found a pub to have some fish and chips (as I do each year). But I also visited Sam’s No. 3, a former stop for Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I had a middling Chicken Cordon Bleu Melt, but it appears I should’ve had the burritos!

The best stop for me was The Ship Tavern. Not just because of the food, but the atmosphere. The look and feel of not just the tavern but also the attached hotel were stunning. The ornate woodwork with its deep, rich color was perfect for the nautical theme. But this woodwork is carried throughout the hotel as well. Alongside the woodwork in the lobby of the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa are pillars of Onyx from Mexico. The hotel overall has a highly refined style that dates back to the early 1900s. Check out more pictures and information on this lavish hotel at the Brown Palace Hotel and Spa website.

Rural Planning at NPC

As mentioned in my pre-conference post on NPC ’25, there were a number of sessions that piqued my interest from a rural mindset.

Disaster Mitigation

There were a number of sessions this year on disaster mitigation and resilience. One session I attended briefly celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (DMA 2000), which established mitigation planning as the foundation for state, local, tribal, and territorial governments to understand and reduce their risk from natural hazards. But it also looked into what’s next.

Researchers have reviewed over 300 plans, noting that many of the plans weren’t using Land Use Plans as a risk reduction action. The research also concluded that mitigation plan drafters didn’t do well in mapping local hazard risk.

Chad Nabity also moderated a session entitled, “Nine Meals From Anarchy”. The session name stems from a quote by Alfred Henry Lewis that suggests that planners should strongly consider food scarcity in disaster mitigation planning. One of the main focuses of this session included Fremont, Nebraska, during the floods of 2019. The city had essentially become an island due to the floods. Food and other materials had to be flown in until the floodwaters receded.

Rural Prosperity

Early in the conference, I attended a session that focused on the recent creation of the Michigan Office of Rural Prosperity. The session moderator interviewed Sarah Lucas, the Director of this relatively new division in the state.

The concept of an Office of Rural Prosperity is a relatively new concept itself. Not many states have this type of entity, but they have proven to be helpful to the rural areas of the states that do have an Office of Rural Prosperity. But with the lack of these entities, Michigan has to find its own way. As Sarah states, “Everything we do in the office is kind of an experiment, as most of it has never been done before.”

Taboo for Planners

The last session that I attended at the conference was a relatively light-hearted one. It was worthy of the occasional laugh, but also a good discussion on adjusting your verbiage to make progress with residents, staff, and elected officials in the effort to support proper community planning. The audience was involved in a modified version of the Taboo game, where popular planning terms had to be guessed without saying the actual term or a list of other dead giveaways for the term. Though it was a fun session, the concept conjured up thoughts on how to have conversations on sensitive subjects in a way that won’t spark disdain based on the wording used.

Wrapping Up NPC

Finishing out the conference, attendees were able to listen to Leah Rothstein. Leah is the daughter of Richard Rothstein, the author of The Color of Law, a book that is famous in planning circles for its chronicling of how the government segregated America. Leah has her own book, JUST ACTION: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law that works to right the wrongs of past segregationary practices. It was a very sobering speech for the end of a conference, but a profound and impactful one.

In Summary

Unfortunately for Denver, the conference was held in late March/early April. It wasn’t the most ideal time for the conference. Also, having 16th Street still under reconstruction was a bit of a drawback. But the facilities were great and the food was better. Check out the Rural Resurrection Instagram account for more pictures from this year’s NPC.

As usual, I’m already looking forward to next year’s conference. In the spring of 2026, Detroit residents will have to get used to the hordes of planning nerds trouncing through their community as well. Look out, Motor City, here we come!