The AICP and Exam Study Guides

Planning is a profession, that is, it's not solely an academic activity in which people discuss theory and leave it at that. While theory is important, and certainly research is an important tool for establishing "the way things are," it is not in any way the focus of the industry.

Since planning is a profession, you shouldn't be surprised to know that planners can be certified, just, for example, as engineers can be. When you become certified, you join the American Institute of Certified Planners, and you earn the privilege of appending "AICP" to your name, as in "Josephine Planner, AICP." Being a certified planner means that you have been recognized by the industry as a professional in the craft, and that you are bound to the AICP code of ethics. Certified planners maintain their certification through the AICP Certification Maintenance program, which requires 32 hours of instruction every two years, and which must include at least 1.5 hours of planning law and 1.5 hours of ethics training.

In order to become a certified planner, you must achieve certain prerequisites, including a specified combination of education and professional experience. Once you have met these prerequisites, and are a member of the American Planning Association, you are eligible to take the AICP exam.

The AICP exam is administered twice annually, and the application and exam cost is currently $485. An exam outline is also provided by the AICP which also makes exam prep notes available in paperback and CD for $195.

Having said that, there are other study guides, too. The Washington APA offers the APA Chapter Presidents' Council Study Manual for $15. Online study guides also exist, such as the APA Florida Treasure Coast Section's AICP Exam 2011 Study Links.

The Treasure Coast Section's offering is an exhaustive list of links to books, reviews, and other resources, and I intend to spend a significant amount of time going through it. I'm glad to have found it. And how did I find it? Apparently someone found my blog entry regarding Michael Brooks' "Planning Theory for Practitioners" worthy of inclusion on the list. I am flattered, but the credit goes to EWU's Urban and Regional Planning program for inspiring (requiring?) the work. It just goes to show how the EWU program contributes to the future of our region.

Thank you, Inland Empire Section

Last quarter I submitted an essay to the Inland Empire Section of the Washington Chapter of the American Planning Association for their annual Student Book Award. Today, I'd like to publicly thank the IES for selecting my essay, "The Purpose of Urban and Regional Planning," as the first place entry. I am honored.

The essay contest is called the "Student Book Award" because the prize is a gift certificate to Spokane's EWU Bookstore. So far, I have purchased three textbooks, one for each of my classes this quarter, on the $500 prize. I may be able to purchase two more for next quarter.

Model Subdivision Regulations
Model Subdivision
Regulations
The books contain information about how to analyze policy similar to Lindblom's interpretation of the rational planning process, the law regarding the creation of subdivision ordinances, and how people perceive and react to the urban environment. I anticipate they will all be useful when I reflect upon the various functions within the planning profession.



So, thank you very much, IES members, for your assistance in my education. I hope I can return the favor someday.

Four the Future - Energy Generation

  • Wind farm proposed on Palouse
    Source: Spokesman-Review; October 27, 2010
    Summary: Even though the Palouse is not as well suited for wind turbines as the Columbia gorge, a ridge near Oakesdale is and a permit has been requested to create a $170 million wind farm which will meet the needs of 25,000 homes.
    Opinion: The saddest part of the article reads as follows: "[The Palouse has] been farmed for over 100 years, so it doesn’t have great wildlife habitat left. It’s pretty well suited for development." I hope that wind power is the only development it attracts.
  • Harnessing the wind
    Source: Ashland Daily Tidings; December 22, 2010
    Summary: Smaller cylindrical wind turbines are quieter than bladed windmills and can take advantage of winds closer to the ground. That makes them safer for birds, too. These Michigan-manufactured windmills cost, including installation, around $11,000 early last year, but demand is making for long delivery times, and have driven the cost up to $15,000 now. However, Oregon and federal tax credits shaved $7,500 of the cost of each.
    Opinion: The earlier concerns about noise and extremely large towers are partially mitigated by this turbine format. They also have the advantage that it doesn't matter from which direction the wind blows, as it doesn't need to turn to face into it.
  • PGE's coal-fired Boardman plant gets approval to close in 2020, with fewer pollution controls
    Source: Oregonian; December 9, 2010
    Summary: A coal-fired plant in Boardman, just south of the Columbia River in eastern Oregon, avoided adding $500 million in additional pollution controls by receving permission from Oregon’s Environmental Quality Commission to close by December 31, 2020. Instead, $60 to $90 million in pollution controls will be installed. The plant produces 4 million tons of greenhouse gases and more than 25,000 tons of other pollutants each year, including acid rain and smog producing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. A Sierra Club lawsuit is attempting to close the Boardman plant earlier, asserting that more pollution controls should have been installed upon initial construction. The agreement still requires EPA approval. If approval is given, the Boardman plant will be the youngest coal-fired plant to be closed due to environmental concerns.
    Opinion: There will be more stories like this, but not necessarily due to environmental concerns. A great number of coal fired plants will get old enough to be abandoned anyway, and we must either find a way to replace the energy they produce or reduce our demand. The second is preferable, being the more resilient position.
  • Interest in algae's oil prospects is growing
    Source: Los Angeles Times; September 17, 2010
    Summary: While we here in Washington are trying to get rid of algae, there are nearly 300 Californians who are raising it on purpose in order to create liquid fuel. $176 million was invested in one year to develop biofuel from algae, but what it currently produces is exceptionally expensive, between $20 to nearly $33 per gallon (and some estimate rise as high as $60 per gallon). Kai BioEnergy Corporation claims that it can currently produce 20 gallons per minute and just needs to get to 300 gallons per minute to become economically viable.



    Opinion: If they reach their price point at a 300-gallons-per-minute daytime average, and considering solar obliqueness in the morning and evening, they’d be making around 144,000 gallons per day. The United States currently consumes nearly 900,000,000 gallons per day. Thousands of such facilities would be necessary to make a significant dent in the problem.

Four the Future - SARP

The Sprague/Appleway Revitalization Plan (SARP). For those who are unfamiliar with it, SARP is a plan adopted by the Spokane Valley City Council. There were several controversial aspects to it, including "down-zoning" areas along Sprague Avenue east of the Sprague/Appleway couplet, and converting Sprague back to two-way traffic. Several of the city councilmembers who supported the SARP were turned out of office in the following election by a group calling themselves the "Positive Change" coalition.
  • SARP Opposition
    Summary: At the west end of the SARP area, officially called the Gateway Commercial Avenue and Gateway Commercial Center zones, the rules for mixed-use development were changed by the "Positive Changes" coalition to allow Harlan Douglass and Elephant Boys operate an auto-sales business. This amendment occurred after Douglass had sued the city, but the city successfully defended the original denial. The planning commission had recommended that wall signs be banned above the first floor. Councilmember Rose Dempsey indicated support for that recommendation, but Councilmember Dean Grafos "abruptly shut down discussion" (Spokesman-Review, "Ordinance allows vehicle sales in mixed-use avenue zone", September 16, 2010) and the council overturned the commission's recommendation. A month later, in a 5-2 vote, the City Council voted to kill SARP with Bill Gothmann and Rose Dempsey in opposition. Gothmann argued that some plan needs to be in place, even if it's not SARP. Councilmember Bob McCaslin argued that there is a plan: private enterprise. Carlos Landa, who owns a strip mall that is 80% vacant at the corner of Sprague and Pines, said that he won't commit to invest $250,000 in improvements without a plan to revitalize the corridor.
    Opinion: The advantage of planning is that people can make commitments with the confidence that the plan will be executed. In other words, plans reduce risk and that encourages investment. In a wider context, the problem is more than mixed use area codes and down zoning, etc.:
    • Spokane Valley is totally lacking in identity, so they can't leverage that into a vision for the future. The absence of neighborhood councils contribute to this problem.
    • Spokane Valley is the definition of sprawl, with far more authority to develop than the economy could possibly support. As a result there is no guidance as to where people should invest in the community. It used to be that transportation and communications were limitations where a person would develop. But, with Spokane Valley's history of indiscriminate public "improvements," the aphorism "location, location, location" means nothing and Bob McCaslin's misguided denial of responsibility all the more disappointing.
  • Commission won't back zoning change
    Source: Spokesman-Review; December 16, 2010
    Summary: The new Spokane Valley City Council wanted a change to the comprehensive plan to allow an automobile dealership in the area the previous city council wanted to more walkable, more densely built city center. The city council declared an emergency declaration to change the plan out of cycle, and sent the change to the planning commission. The planning commission, however, did not see that there was an emergency and voted against the amendment.
    Opinion: The commission was responding to the changes the City Council requested on behalf of Pring Corporation between Sprague and Appleway on Dartmouth. One of the commissioners stated that they existed in order to assist the city council, and should consider the council’s recommendation. Another observed that they should not just rubberstamp everything. The second is correct. Congratulations to the Spokane Valley Planning Commission on having a backbone. Too bad the council will likely ignore them. Clearly, the city council has no idea what an "emergency" actually is. It's not a convenience for political considerations, but used for the adoption of regulations to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare.
  • Couplet likely to remain
    Source: Spokesman-Review; October 30, 2010
    Summary: While the Spokane Valley City Council has begun the process of discarding SARP, one of its elements, converting Sprague back to a two-way street, is still on the table. Except, there's no money. It would cost $1 million to restripe and change stop lights. Additionally, it would cost millions more if landscaping other tweaks are included. Mayor Towey believes that it will take 9 to 12 years to gather the funds to do such a thing. Business owners in the SARP area, pedestrians, and the fire district are opposed to the couplet, while many drivers prefer the wide open driving experience.
    Opinion: The article didn't mention the possibility that the state would force the City of Spokane Valley to repay the millions of dollars the state gave in grants to reconfigure Sprague in the first place. Spokane County engaged in some shenanigans to get that money in the first place, bypassing the Spokane Regional Transportation Council and spending money not authorized by the regional plan, so the other local governments will be less than excited to spend even more regional dollars on authorizing the change anyway.
  • Emergency ordinance Jan. 11 would bury vision of SARP
    Source: Spokesman-Review; January 1, 2011
    Summary: With apologies to Shakespeare, City Councilmember Rose Dempsey adapts Mark Antony’s oration at Julius Caesar’s funeral ("Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears") to plead for public involvement in the upcoming hearing regarding SARP’s fate. She points out that recently deceased King Cole had a vision for the City of Spokane, and great things happened. She says that disposing of SARP, which is intended to encourage the economy of a low-performing area of the city, is happening merely for the advantage of one person (presumably Pring).
    Opinion: In choosing Mark Antony’s speech to imitate, Councilmember Dempsey not only appears to supporting the SARP as a platform from which a reasonable plan can emerge, but also appears to be encouraging people to question the honor of the "Positive Change" coalition. After all, how many times can one person say that the "council is honorable and just" without others considering whether it is true or not? This is no mean disagreement. These are people fighting over the plan, and it has become highly political as important plans tend to become. But, it has also become personal, which is simply embarrassing.

Top Posts - December 2010

With so few posts in November, I didn't produce a November top stories. But, we were back in business in December, so here is your list the top five most viewed end of the year stories:

#5 Four the Future - December 31 Four (or, really, five) responses to the climate change crisis from various groups: the US federal government, cities from around the world, the international community, and from climatologists who are ready to be proactive about setting the record straight. The article was part two of a series which began on December 29.

#4 Four the Future - December 27 A number of links concentrating on economic development, including possible changes in Americans' spending habits, the problems (and tongue-in-cheek solutions) associated with wealth inequality (though, I prefer the term "wealth disproportionality"), and hopes for success in the local commercial real estate market.

#3 Four the Future - December 20 Stories related to the proposed Spokane County Jail. Jails are highly political capital facilities because they are as much symbols as they are buildings. The article documents the reduction in the need for jails in the northwest, and the failure of the Spokane County commissioners to heed their own studies.

#2 Four the Future - December 22 In yet another article with an uninspired title, a series which tells the story of a number of changes at Riverfront Park with links to its past, its future, and the ripple effects throughout the region. It inspired quite a debate on Planning the Future's Facebook page with Spokane City Councilmember Bob Apple.

#1 Summary and Discussion of "Spatializing Culture" Ah, finally, an article with a good title--and almost twice as many hits as the #2 post! It reviews an article I read for my Advanced Community Development class which describes two open spaces in downtown San José, Costa Rica. The discussion observes just how similar the forces in San José resemble what happens at the STA plaza.

Four the Future - Water Quantity

A look at water quantity issues, both through increasing flows in the rivers and decreasing flows for wasteful human purposes (figuratively and literally).
  • Sullivan Lake flows to allow development
    Source: Spokesman-Review; October 22, 2010
    Summary: The Pend Oreille County Public Utility District has agreed to release 14,000 acre-feet of water each summer from Sullivan Lake in exchange for $14 million from the Washington Department of Ecology. Two-thirds of the additional flow will be used to grant enough water rights for 23,500 new homes in Pend Oreille, Ferry, Lincoln, Douglas and Stevens counties. The remaining flow will be to enhance in-river flows for fish, other wildlife, and recreational uses.
    Opinion: 14,000 acre-feet is equal to one acre of land flooded 14,000 feet deep in water. It's the same as putting Riverfront Park 140 feet underwater. This additional water will flow down through the Columbia River, but it is of no use to salmon until it reaches Grand Coulee, a dam which lacks a fish ladder, an issue that the public seemed unconcerned about at the time, and the Canadians didn't care about as there was no commercial salmon industry on the Columbia.
  • Northwest tribes want input on Columbia River Treaty
    Source: Spokesman-Review; November 16, 2010
    Summary: The United States and Canada have a treaty manages the flow of the Columbia River. It can be altered with at least 10 years notice, and the first chance it can be changed is in 2024. Native American tribes want to have a voice in the negotiations in order to restore river flows capable of restoring salmon runs. The treaty is currently under review.
    Opinion: This is a major opportunity to restore the relationship between Native Americans and the river. The issue of water rights is key. Native Americans have the most senior water rights of any group, and if they can successfully argue that they used the water for salmon farming then they could argue that they have a right to the volume of water necessary to restore salmon above Grand Coulee for their own use. This should be a respected argument, since, if they had pumped it out for cattle, they would have a recognized claim! They merely farmed them in place. Any requirements beyond that, like for a non-native fishery, the United States and Canada would have to further increase flows. But, as mentioned earlier, Canada has no financial interest in fishing, so that may be a complicating factor.
  • Ultra-low-flow flush toilets are on market
    Source: Denver Post; November 13, 2010
    Summary: Installing high-efficiency toilets can save you money by reducing the amount of water you use. In the 1990’s, the federal government mandated 1.6 gallon per flush toilets. Previously, they could use up to 3.5 gallons per flush. The Environmental Protection Agency is promoting a 1.28 per gallon voluntary standard. A recent price for that ultra-low-flow level was recently noted at $147. Using a low-flow toilet can save $90 per year for an average family. A company has developed even lower flow vacuum-assisted toilets at only 0.8 gallons per flush.
    Opinion: Cities and counties can influence the amount of water used by mandating higher efficiency toilets in new construction, and, like this event last year in California’s West Basin Municipal Water District, swap out old toilets for low-flow ones. Taking less water out of the environment is good, but there are also downstream advantages. When there's less water in the sewer line, existing sewage treatment plants can handle more flushes, extending their current capacity. Because the waste is more concentrated, the treatment plant operates at higher efficiencies, reducing the amount of pollutants that enter the river.
  • Lushest lawns will require more green
    Source: Spokesman-Review; January 3, 2011
    Summary: The City of Spokane is increasing the cost of high water usage to encourage conservation through pricing. For most people who use little water, their bills will go down. For those who use much more, their bills will go up a great deal. Councilmember Snyder contends that this is an advantage to those who conserve and are of low-income, but Councilmember McLaughlin argues that the city shouldn't be penalizing people for their "lifestyle choices."
    Opinion: The people of this region use an immense amount of water for their lawns compared to people in other regions. And, yes, it is because of a lifestyle choice, but that lifestyle is harming the environment and everyone else in it. So, if they really want to keep that lifestyle choice, then they should be quite willing to pay more for it. For many people, though, I suspect that they’re not going to give up their lattes for their habit of wasting water. Eventually they will find more efficient ways to manage their water usage or pay the penalty that should come with sticking their heads in their grass.

Housing in the Quincy Valley

In what appears to be a useful planning tool, Photovoice is a process in which people are given cameras to take photos of what's important to them in their community. This is not only an excellent way of problem identification, but also a form of data collection. The resulting images can be quite compelling and the process has several useful side effects. It engages the participants in the planning work by getting people to feel involved, to think about the problem as they are documenting it, and potentiating action to solve it.

Shawn Vestal of the Spokesman-Review wrote a story about a Photovoice joint venture between Washington State University and the Quincy Community Health Center. Here are the English language and Spanish language videos they produced:



En Español:

Four the Future - Air Quality

Four air quality articles, including an update to the Waste-to-energy mercury violation, power plants killing plant life, smoking-related deaths, and improvements in a world city's air.
  • City, air agency could settle fine, upgrade incinerator
    Source: Spokesman-Review; December 28, 2010
    See also: Four the Future – November 3
    Summary: The Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency has offered to settle a Waste-to-Energy air quality violation from last year for $5,000 and a required upgrade. During a test, the City of Spokane turned off a pollution control system they normally use to prove they didn’t need it. Under the deal, a carbon-based system will be installed at a cost of approximately $40,000. The director of the Spokane Regional Solid waste System says the cost won’t make much difference because the plant was already committed to using the new system.
    Opinion: The attitude that argues that air quality control measures are unnecessary might stem from a philosophy of maintaining flexibility or being scientific in their approach, and not merely to thumb their noses at regulators. Indeed, the former what the city is claiming. Latest update: the city agreed.
  • Is coal-fired power plant killing farmers' trees?
    Source: MSNBC; December 28, 2010
    Summary: Farmers in central Texas are losing their crops, they say, because of the sulfur dioxide emitted by coal-fired plants. Sulfur dioxide, combined with water, makes sulfuric acid, a source of acid rain. It is known that sulfur dioxide kills trees, especially pecan trees. The Fayette Power Project has operated for 30 years, mostly without emissions control. The Lower Colorado River Authority, which operates the plant, and the state regulator both say it is not the plant's fault, but the EPA is suing Texas over its failure to enforce the Clean Air Act. There are 19 coal-fired plants in Texas. Each place where the trees are dying off there is a plant nearby. The EPA’s criminal investigation branch is getting involved. In the meantime, the Fayette plant is receiving a $500 million upgrade to scrub sulfur.
    Opinion: This is one of the difficulties with coal, other than coal not being renewable and its combustion causing climate change. Coal contains about 1% sulfur. Lower quality coal (which is what is used because much of the high-quality anthracite has already been burned) has more sulfur.
  • More Than 600,000 People Killed by 2nd-Hand Smoke
    Source: ABC News; November 26, 2010
    Summary: Annually, passive smoking causes about 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 from lung disease, 36,900 from asthma, and 21,400 from lung cancer. This accounts for about 1 percent of all deaths. This is in addition to the 5.1 million deaths caused by smoking. Children are especially affected due to SIDS, ear infections, pneumonia, bronchitis, and asthma.
    Opinion: If smokers as a group killed 600,000 non-smokers a year by any other means, it would be called murder. Hopefully legislation such as the Washington Clean Indoor Air Act will show a reduction in deaths over time. However, since it doesn’t apply to homes, children will still be disproportionately harmed.
  • What's missing in Mexico City? Dirty air
    Source: McClatchy; December 2, 2010
    Summary: In 1991, Mexico City’s air had only 8 days with air quality below hazardous levels. This year, however, adequate to good air days has set a record of 193 days. This is a result of policies such as emissions testing every six months, reductions in lead and sulfur in fuels, and the relocation of the heaviest polluting factories. In 1989, the city created Hoy No Circula ("No Driving Today") that prevents driving one day per week. They also expanded the subway system and extended bus-only lanes for low-emission articulated buses. Still, ozone is a problem 180 days per year, complicated by the city’s high altitude.
    Opinion: Mexico City is an mega-huge, sprawling city. Just like Los Angeles, it is heavily auto-dependent. And like Los Angeles, they have air quality issues and are embracing infrastructure-intensive transit as a solution. Smaller cities would be smart to heed the lesson and avoid the auto-centric, sprawling pattern that made those cities so dirty.

Air Quality - A Tease and a Warning

Last week I decided that this Wednesday's "Four the Future" would be about air quality, and I assembled the post. But tonight, I'm just going to make a quick mention that, in the interim, the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency (SRCAA) has issued a stage two burn ban within the Smoke Control Zone due to poor air quality conditions.

According to the Spokesman-Review (Agency orders ban on burning, January 4, 2010), the last two times a stage two ban had been ordered were in April 1998 and February 1993. A stage two burn ban means that wood burning may only be employed if your home has no other source of heat. People with respiratory disease are urged to stay indoors and avoid exertion.

SRCAA states on their web site that the burn ban will remain in effect until air conditions warrant it be lifted. A storm capable of clearing out the tainted air may come by the weekend.

Four the Future - Housing

  • Hailey council repeals affordable housing rules
    Source: Idaho Statesman; October 13, 2010
    Summary: In a report mentioned in my Foundations of Planning class last quarter, the resort town of Hailey, Idaho, repealed its affordable housing requirement due to fear of litigation. Prior to the repeal, 20% of new subdivisions were required to be deed-restricted community housing. This is a tool used nationwide. Annexations and planned developments will still have the requirement.
    Opinion: The comments on the article are telling. One person wants a reduction in all regulations (Somalia-style, apparently). Another (sarcastically, I hope) calls for "your kind" to live elsewhere, and just drive into town to "do our yard work, teach our children and protect us from fires and criminals." I could not have said it better. There's no better way to make a disgruntled working class by banishing them to the sticks each night.
  • CNU and NTBA's Reform of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and related housing programs
    Source: Congress for the New Urbanism; December 17, 2010
    Summary: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two federally chartered secondary mortgage agencies are implicated in the housing bubble. Part of the meltdown was precipitated by the distortionary effects of HUD, Fannie, and Freddie’s policies of limiting the amount of non-residential space included in mixed use developments. Mixed use developments have held their value, yet remain substantially excluded from the secondary mortgage market. Fannie Mae allows projects to be up to 20% non-residential; Freddie Mac allows 25%. HUD’s capital program restricts imputed non-residential rent to 20%. The Congress for the New Urbanism and the National Town Builders Association propose to raise these limits to 50%. This would allow the market to determine the mix, rather than federal policy.
    Opinion: When these loans are ineligible for the secondary mortgage market, banks must carry the note and they become unable to resell them in an efficient manner. And while I do believe that banks should be required to retain a portion of the project risk (after all, if they have no skin in the game, they can do whatever they want and have proven they will), I can see how these limitations could limit the availability of funding for mixed use projects. Alternatively, it could cause the residential uses to be exclusively high-rent in order to make the retail space a small percentage of the overall cost. Either way, it is bad for cities and causes sprawl through federal housing policy.
  • Tiny house movement thrives amid real estate bust
    Source: Yahoo! News; November 29, 2010
    Summary: Despite of the housing crisis, or perhaps because of it, one sector of the housing market is booming: that of the "tiny house." Tiny houses can be as small as the 89 square foot house mentioned in the article, but entire families can live in a 500 square foot house. They invite a comparison to trailers, but these are built with higher quality materials. They range in cost from $20,000 to $50,000.
    Opinion: You can visit the tiny house blog at tinyhouseblog.com. This concept could be useful for accessory dwelling units (also known as granny flats). Basically, you’d put this in your backyard, and you’d have a room for another (tiny) family. This allows the community to grow without sprawling further. The back of the envelope calculation ($25,000, 20-year, 6% loan) is only $179.11/month, which is affordable for all but the most destitute. And R. Buckminster Fuller would be proud (I’ll explain that statement in a later post!) This is unlikely to become a large segment of the housing market, but jurisdictions should be prepared to deal with them.
  • Homeownership stays at the lowest level in a decade
    Source: USA Today; November 2, 2010
    Summary: Prior to the Clinton and Bush administrations, home ownership rate was level at about 64%. Upon the deregulation of the investment banks, home ownership rose to 69% in 2004. With foreclosures and weak demand, home ownership has now dropped to 66.9%, the lowest since 1999. Housing vacancy is now at 18.8 million units, or 14% of all housing.


    A man rides a horse by an abandoned home in Las Vegas. Spencer Platt, Getty Images

    Opinion: This statistic would tend to indicate that we still have a bit lower to go to return to the levels before the unwise deregulation of investment banks. But, note, that the small percentage increase caused a massive increase in the cost of home ownership and shenanigans on the part of casino owners…I mean bankers. The increase in the ownership percentage was clearly not worth the worldwide pain being suffered now. Please let it be a lesson.

Changes for a New Year

Happy New Year! After my first quarter as a graduate student and a heavy quarter of blogging about issues related to planning, I've learned a great deal about both the activity of planning and the activity of blogging. Some observations:
  1. Planning comes in many styles and planning theory has much to say about "how things ought to be."
  2. The blog stats seem to indicate that when someone stumbles upon the blog, they'll read several entries, but not ones with dates on them.
  3. I only rarely receive comments.
So, I'm going to make some changes around here. First, I'll be writing about what I've learned about planning theory and the activity called "community development." I have lots of articles I've read about planning activities around the country and around the world, and I'll abstract them for you in a way that I hope is interesting and applicable to our corner of the planet. Also, I will be changing "Four the Future" to have a theme, usually, and the theme will be in the name of the blog entry.

But, most importantly, I want to hear from you to find out what kinds of content you're most interested in. How can I make this blog better for you? As I've mentioned in another place, the product I want to create for this blog is "Knowledge and Hope." How can I best do that for you? The comment button is right down there, and I'd be grateful to see any observations you may have.

OK, that's it for now. Thanks for a great 2010, and I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2011.