PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

New Publication Focuses on Strategies for Community Revitalization

The Fannie Mae Foundation has launched a new publication entitled BuildingBlocks: A Practitioner's Guide to Planning and Financing Community Revitalization. This quarterly report strives to put innovative, useful strategies for distressed-neighborhood redevelopment directly in the hands of practitioners.

Recognizing that distressed neighborhoods are often untapped markets with enormous potential, BuildingBlocks will explore ways to connect capital markets to emerging communities. It will also address fundamental operational issues for community-based organizations. Each issue of BuildingBlocks will be devoted to a single topic on various aspects of community revitalization.

This first issue looks at strategies to recast the image of troubled areas--from renaming small-block areas in order to combat negative associations, to target marketing neighborhoods to a specific potential homeowner type. It includes interviews with practitioners who share their experiences and observations from the field, covering topics such as how to get good press, how computer graphics can be used to "see" alternative redesign plans, and how one San Diego neighborhood reached out to diverse populations to spur revitalization of their community. These ideas will give practitioners the tools to change the way people think about distressed urban neighborhoods.

Sharing information is a vital part of the Fannie Mae Foundation's mission to create affordable homeownership and housing opportunities across the United States.

To see the first issue of BuildingBlocks, visit:

www.fanniemaefoundation.org/research/blocks/

Planning Guide Helps You Hold Engaging Public Meetings  

Chicago, Ill. B Many executives and managers cringe at the very idea of holding or participating in a public meeting.  However, a new book, Successful Public Meetings is here to help meeting planners navigate the choppy waters within the public arena. 

Like them or not, public meetings play a vital part of the planning process. Successful Public Meetings, by Elaine Cogan, a partner in the planning and public affairs consulting firm Cogan Owens Cogan, is a comprehensive guide that will show you how to plan and conduct productive meetings, leaving nothing to chance.  Cogan identifies the essential components of a successful meeting, lists crucial tasks, explains how to avoid or overcome last-minute disasters, and reveals tactful but effective ways to manage difficult participants and awkward situations.

"I have sought Elaine Cogan's advice on public meetings since I first ran for public office," said Sen. Ron Wyden. "She understands political realities and how to bring together people with diverse and often contentious opinions. This book is a unique reference for all of us who value positive public discourse."

"The lively narrative and step-by-step checklists make it so much easier for planners to gain control over meeting variables to produce a truly productive public dialogue," said APA Executive Director Frank So, FAICP.

Successful Public Meetings (134 pp.) is published by APA's Planners Press. The paperback edition is available for $22.95, $19.95 for APA members. The book can be ordered directly from APA's Planners Book Service online at www.planning.org or by calling (312) 786-6344.

Discover the Details of Community Development in New Book  

Chicago, Ill. B Successful urban planning is a collaborative effort that involves many different disciplines. In his new book, Planning the Built Environment, Larz T. Anderson offers a better understanding of some of the systems and procedures used by professionals in related fields.

Design professionals and students will find helpful information in Planning the Built Environment about the essentials of water and sewer systems, traffic generation, residential densities, site planning and subdivision procedures. This material will help them work more effectively with professionals in other fields such as civil and traffic engineering and architecture.  After reading the book, those who aspire to create well-designed and livable cities and towns will be more constructive, and will have a better grasp of how their professional counterparts get things done.

"Planning the Built Environment offers critical information for people who develop the physical components of our surroundings," said Anderson, an urban planner and former educator at Virginia Tech.

"The exercises offer a variety of ways for readers to design, define and compute everything from drainage systems to building density and height," said APA Executive Director Frank So, FAICP.  "This book is useful as classroom text, or as a guide to more efficient planning for those on the job."

Planning the Built Environment (288 pp.) is published by APA's Planners Press. The hardcover edition is available for $52, $46 for APA members. The book can be ordered directly from APA's Planners Book Service online at www.planning.org or by calling (312) 786-6344.

Smart Growth, Better Neighborhoods: Communities Leading  the Way

This study from the National Neighborhood Coalition examines the ill effects of unchecked growth and proposes strategies for community involvement in smart growth and development.  Learn about community-based organizations and coalitions that are tackling the negative consequences of sprawl and disinvestment in their neighborhoods and making growth smarter for low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

In Smart Growth, Better Neighborhoods, a 204-page report, organizations share in their own words the lessons they have learned from working on such regional issues as public transportation, affordable housing, brownfields, schools, and more.  Contents of this report include 15 complete case studies, 11 short articles providing perspectives on smart growth and community, information sources and funding resources. $12 for NNC members and $25 for non-members.  Summary report (16 pages) is available at no charge.   For more information, visit www.neighborhoodcoalition.org

New Book Offers Writing Tips for Urban and Environmental Planners

Chicago, Ill. B At times planning jargon can seem like a foreign language, as complicated as a tax code or a legal document. Planners will find help though, in a new book by Natalie Macris titled Planning in Plain English, a valuable tool that promises to help planners communicate more clearly.

A highly useful guide, Planning in Plain English shows planners and students how to avoid common writing problems. Each chapter includes practice exercises to help planners recognize and overcome bad writing habits, while handy lists offer tips to transform poor language into lean, descriptive phrases. Readers will also learn the importance of assessing an audience and organizing ideas in order to convey complex planning concepts clearly and effectively.

"The main message of the book is simple: Good planning requires good writing," said Macris, an urban and environmental planner.  "People can apply the book's lessons to any type of document - a plan, memo, report, or proposal - to make it clear and jargon-free."

"This book is an outstanding resource full of succinct, practical tips for producing well written planning documents," said APA Executive Director Frank So, FAICP.  "Every planner's library should have it."

Planning in Plain English (120pp.) is published by APA's Planners Press. The paperback edition is available for $14.95, or $10 each for 10 or more copies. The book can be ordered directly from APA's Planners Book Service online at www.planning.org or by calling (312) 786-6344.

The 30,000-plus member American Planning Association (APA) and its professional institute, the American Institute of Certified Planners, are dedicated to advancing the art and science of urban, rural and regional planning. APA encourages planning that contributes to public well being by developing communities and environments that more effectively meet the needs of all people. APA has offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago, Ill. For more information, visit APA's web site at www.planning.org