Introductory Remarks

Thank you, Rebecca, for that kind introduction. Before I launch into my remarks, I also want to thank both you and Stephanie Jennings for all that you have done to put this symposium together.

The Fannie Mae Foundation has not only underwritten the expenses of this symposium. It has also provided a generous grant of $10,000 to APA to support the National Planning Conference in general, and, in particular, the production of the conference proceedings on CD-ROM.

We greatly appreciate the Foundation’s investment of staff time and funds in strengthening our conference program and, through the proceedings, in helping us reach those who can’t be with us in New Orleans.

On a related note, I would like to mention that the Fannie Mae Foundation -- in partnership with HUD -- has also engaged APA’s Research Department to undertake a major study of regional approaches to affordable housing. That 18-month project is now underway and we look forward to working with the Foundation on broad dissemination of its findings.

I was delighted when I first learned of the Foundation’s interest in sponsoring this symposium on the implications of sprawl and smart growth for social equity. Every professional planner I know -- and every citizen serving on a planning commission, I’m sure -- would agree that the benefits of good planning should accrue to every member of our society.

In the literature of our profession, in its training programs, and in discourse among its practitioners, issues of social equity arise with some frequency. Often concerns about equity are coupled with concerns about impacts and involvement.

Of equal importance: how do we educate those who have traditionally gotten involved in the planning process, so that they come to realize that planning at any scale -- neighborhood, city, or region – is fundamentally flawed if it is not ultimately "of, by, and for" all of the people.

Those twin goals of inclusion and equity -- those values -- are deeply ingrained in the ethics of the planning profession. However, we all recognize that there have been woeful lapses between ethical intent and common practice in many of our communities.

Why has that happened? Given a country as complex as ours and a field as diverse as ours, there are many reasons. Specialization within the profession can at times lead to a tight focus on a particular aspect of a community or region, such as planning for its infrastructure or its transportation system…or planning for the protection of its open spaces or the provision of new school facilities.

One of the great strengths of planning, which all students are taught, is its holistic approach to looking at community issues and its inter-disciplinary approach to solving problems. However, day-to-day practice sometimes leads to a more piecemeal treatment. Then too, because planning exists within a political structure, even the best of efforts -- whether that may be the planner’s desire for a more participatory process or for a more equitable solution to the allocation of resources and the development of land -- sometimes these efforts run headlong into other people’s agendas for the community….people who can control the purse, veto the well-conceived plan, or undermine it by granting numerous variances.

Fortunately, over the last decade, we have seen a growing recognition within the profession of the need to resurrect and re-emphasize the holistic approach I just mentioned. More importantly, given our subject this afternoon, planning education increasingly seeks to ensure that planners do not overlook the social fabric and strengths of a community or fall prey to focusing only on its physical fabric or on its deficits.

These are just a few of the themes that I hope you will explore together over the next three hours and that each of you will continue to think about when you return home.

The American Planning Association is dedicated to promoting social equity in this country and to helping its members do so in the communities where they work. We do believe that sprawl is antithetical to good planning -- .that it uses valuable resources inefficiently, damages the environment, and ultimately erodes our social fabric. We do advocate for reinvestment in established neighborhoods, towns, and cities and for compact forms of development whenever new communities must be built.

At the same time, we recognize the double-edged sword of reinvestment: that as people are attracted back to areas with more transportation and housing options, more interesting architecture, and more cultural vitality…there is a danger that current residents will be displaced and that the full array of household types and incomes may not be adequately served by residential rehabilitation and new construction projects.

These are all serious challenges and neither planners nor advocates for low-income families can address them successfully alone. We need to learn each other’s language -- each other’s techniques -- and to partner more often and more effectively with one another at all levels: local, state, and national.

With those goals in mind, I invite you to examine, at your leisure, the flier on APA’s programs and resources which we’ve included in your folders. What you will find there is our bedrock commitment to social equity, as contained in the American Planning Association’s articles of incorporation, and the code of ethics of the American Institute of Certified Planners. You will also get a brief glimpse of the many policies, programs, and publications that relate in one way or another to these fundamental issues of social equity, citizen participation, and neighborhood revitalization.

In closing, I would like to draw your attention in particular to the relevance of our Growing Smart project and ask each of you, when you return home….

Only by doing so, can we change the ground rules that still govern community investments and land development in this country. Only by doing so can you ensure that your community has the full array of tools it needs to plan wisely for the future.

In particular, I’d like to draw your attention to those portions of the Legislative Guidebook that address:

On a corollary note -- though it is not listed on the flier -- I urge you to get your members of Congress to support the Community Character Act, which you just heard about at the awards luncheon. This bill will establish a modest -- but we think a significant -- program in HUD that states can tap to help them modernize their planning legislation and to provide similar assistance to local governments. You can learn more about the Community Character Act by going to APA’s web site -- which is listed on the fact sheet -- and looking under Government Affairs.

With that, I will turn the podium back over to Rebecca to introduce this afternoon’s keynote speaker. Thank you all for coming to the symposium. I wish you godspeed and great success in all your endeavors!

Author and Copyright Information

Following a distinguished, 34-year career of service to the profession, Frank S. So, FAICP, will step down as executive director of the American Planning Association at the end of March, 2001. Having received his master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Ohio State University, Mr. So served as director of Planning and Development in Harvey, Illinois, from 1964-1967, then joined the staff of the Chicago-based American Society of Planning Officials. In 1979, ASPO merged with the American Institute of Planners to form the American Planning Association. Among his many contributions over the years, Mr. So authored over 20 Planning Advisory Service Reports, directed the national conference, and developed the Planners Press, for which he supervised the publication of 60 books on comprehensive planning, growth management, and other topics. Prior to his appointment as executive director in 1996, Mr. So served for many years as APA’s deputy executive director. Under his leadership, APA has greatly expanded its research program, strengthened its public policy efforts, and created new education programs to serve members of the profession and citizens appointed to local planning commissions. Throughout his career, Mr. So has also written, lectured, and taught extensively on the practice of planning, most notably serving as editor-in-chief of two widely-used and influential texts: The Practice of Local Government Planning and The Practice of State and Regional Planning. In 1999, he was named a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners.