Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy, AICP, explains why being able to tell a good story about plans and development is more valuable than any maps or pretty renderings.
Planners are trained to be rational, GIS-wielding data-gatherers, says Hollingsworth-Segedy - but that data by itself is not compelling to the general population:
"Our job is to help ensure that community decisions are rational, and the link between current conditions and future solutions is logically defensible. But the facts alone don't provide what planning staff and planning commissioners need to do their jobs effectively -- to compellingly communicate the issues to the public, and to draw citizens into meaningful involvement that translates into dynamic results."
In addition to the article, you can hear Hollingsworth-Segedy give three lessons she's learned about story telling in audio here.
FULL STORY: Inviting Them In: Using Story as a Planning Tool
Elevating Environmental Journalism: A Masterclass in Climate Storytelling
Pulitzer Prize finalist Rosanna Xia visited the University of Hawai'i at Manoa, sharing her climate reporting expertise through sea level rise field tours, engaging storytelling workshops, and an inspiring public lecture.
Good Planning Under Bad Leadership
Planners must sometimes work under bad leadership. Here are suggestions for responsive planning in challenging political environments.
Applying to Graduate School in Planning: A Second Update
In 2008 and 2018, I wrote some much-read blogs about how to get into planning school. As deadlines near, I revisit that advice. I look first at the big picture of the case you need to make for the admissions committee and then the logistics.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
This Toronto Suburb Has More Bus Riders Than Columbus, Ohio
Brampton, Ontario used gradual improvements in service to prove that if you build it, they will ride.
Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service