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Archive for Recent Events

APAPA-SE, DVRPC and PennDOT Connect on Transportation

On Thursday, February 23, 2017, APAPASE and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) co-hosted a breakfast event about PennDOT Connects. The event, which took place at the American College of Physicians building in Philadelphia, featured Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) Secretary Leslie Richards, Brian Hare of PennDOT, and Elizabeth Schoonmaker of DVRPC, presentations are available here. Secretary Richards kicked off the event with a twenty-minute presentation where she explained transportation’s role in connecting communities and supporting economic development. Under the PennDOT Connects initiative, PennDOT will take an earlier and more active role in reaching out to communities to enhance engagement with local communities and improve transportation-project planning, design, and delivery so that transportation investments support a community’s vision and goals.

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2017 Philadelphia Future City Competition Points to a Bright Future

Regional Winner: Lionville Middle School Source: futurecityphilly.org

If it’s true what they say, ‘children are our future,’ then we have some very smart cities to look forward to! On Saturday January 21, thirty-six middle schools from southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, and Delaware competed in the 2017 Philadelphia Future City Competition held at Archbishop John Carroll High School in Radnor.

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EarthFest 2016 Recap – Youth Engagement and Planning

 

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Over 200 curious young visitors stopped by the APAPA-SE activity booth at Temple University’s EarthFest 2016 on April 22nd.  An annual event at the Ambler Campus, EarthFest promotes environmental awareness to elementary and middle school students from across the region.  Continuing a multi-year tradition, APAPA-SE hosted a booth to support the effort.  This year, our four volunteers engaged students in two planning activities – one related to transportation and the other land use – to give them a very basic idea of what planners do on a regular basis.

The transportation-related activity had students placing stickers to indicate whether they walk, bike, drive, or take the bus to get to school, visit friends/family, visit park/playgrounds, and go shopping. While not exactly scientific, this informal survey had over 230 responses and provided some interesting results (see the tally we put together and feel free to draw your own conclusions). Overall, the kids were really excited about the activity – especially the stickers – and it got them thinking about the pros and cons of how they travel, both for their own personal health and the health of the environment.
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EarthFest 2015 Recap – Youth Engagement and Planning

EarthFest 2015

“If you could do whatever you wanted with this lot, what would you do and why?”  David, age 9, responded, “I would plan a kingdom so that I could be king.”  If only we could all have the visionary powers to dream up a kingdom like David (and if only it were that easy)!  Along with David, hundreds of curious young visitors stopped by the APAPA-SE activity booth at Temple University’s EarthFest 2015 at the Ambler Campus on Friday, April 24th.  They each were prompted to respond to that same question we asked David.

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Annual Event Wrap-up: Lasting Partnerships in Downtown Revitalization

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Thanks to all those who attended or contributed to APAPA SE’s Annual Event on Thursday, November 7th at Lansdowne’s beautiful 20th Century Club. It was a great event for learning, networking, and connecting with fellow planners!

For those who were unable to attend, or for those who did attend but would like more information on the material presented, below are some of the links used in the presentations about the great work being done in Lansdowne:

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Nov. 26: Emerging Professionals Committee Meeting

Are you a planning student, emerging professional, or planner new to the profession? Do you like to organize events like walking tours, happy hours, and educational events related to planning? Then join the APAPA-SE Emerging Professionals Committee! We’ll be meeting at DVRPC on Tuesday, November 26 to discuss events for 2014. We’ll be in Conference Room C on the 8th Floor. We will also have a call-in code for those who are unable to attend in person. Please RSVP so we can provide a list of names to security: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/8993209933/eorg

Delco Celebrates Bike to Work Day

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It was a picture-perfect, cool and sunny spring morning when dozens of cyclists left their cars at home and rode their bikes to work in Media instead in celebration of Bike to Work Day.

On Friday, May 17, the Delaware County Transportation Management Association (DCTMA) and the Delaware County Planning Department partnered up for Bike to Work Day, drawing County employees and other bicyclists from as far away as Upper Darby. Cyclists enjoyed refreshments during the morning celebration held outside the County Courthouse. Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union was the main sponsor with Wawa, Trader Joe’s, and Main Line Water providing water, orange juice, and fresh fruit. Participants also entered into a special raffle for prizes donated by local businesses.

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Recap: LGBT-Friendly Senior Housing in Philadelphia: Creating the John C. Anderson Apartments

Credit: HUD

Thanks to all those who attended LGBT-Friendly Senior Housing in Philadelphia: Creating the John C. Anderson Apartments.  The session PowerPoint presentations are linked to in the program description below and are all available from this download folder.  Thanks again for coming and we thank you for your feedback. We will be releasing a recording of this session as well, which will be advertised from this blog.

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Recap: Environmental Careers Roundtable Discussion

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On Friday, April 5 the APAPASE Mentoring Program held a professional roundtable discussion at PennDesign focused on Environmental Careers. Professional guests included Kathleen Grady, Director of Sustainability at Temple University, Chris Linn, Senior Environmental Planner at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, and Emily Linn, Environmental Protection Specialist at U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The informal discussion was moderated Jeannette Brugger, Pedestrian, Bicycle and Open Space Planner at the Philadelphia City Planning Commission.

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Recap: Emerging Professionals Happy Hour

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On Tuesday, November 13, 2012, forty planners converged on Frankford Hall in Fishtown for APAPASE’s November Happy Hour. Practicing planners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors and planning students mingled over half-liter steins of beer and pretzels at Stephen Starr’s Bavarian biergarten-inspired restaurant. While the happy hour officially lasted from 5:30 to 7:30pm, a dozen or so people stayed to enjoy the outdoor firepit in the restaurant’s interior courtyard.